Asymmetries of azimuthal photon distributions in non-linear Compton scattering in ultra-short intense laser pulses

Abstract: Non-linear Compton scattering in ultra-short intense laser pulses is discussed with the focus on angular distributions of the emitted photon energy. This is an observable which is accessible easily experimentally. Asymmetries of the azimuthal distributions are predicted for both linear and circular polarization. We present a systematic survey of the influence of the laser intensity, the carrier envelope phase and the laser polarization on the emission spectra for single-cycle and few-cycle laser pulses. For linear polarization, the dominant direction of the emission changes from a perpendicular pattern with respect to the laser polarization at low-intensity to a dominantly parallel emission for high-intensity laser pulses.