---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '21563'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Quantum electrodynamics (QED) is one of the most precisely tested theories
    in the history of science, giving accurate predictions to a wide range of experimental
    observations. Recent experimental advances allow for the ability to probe physics
    on extremely short attosecond timescales, enabling ultrafast imaging of quantum
    dynamics. It is of great interest to extend our understanding of short-time quantum
    dynamics to QED, where the focus is typically on long-time observables such as
    \U0001D446\r\nmatrices, decay rates, and cross sections. That said, solving the
    short-time dynamics of the QED Hamiltonian can lead to divergences, making it
    unclear how to arrive at physical predictions. We present an approach to regularize
    QED at short times and apply it to the problem of free-electron radiation into
    a medium, known as Cherenkov radiation. Our regularization method, which can be
    extended to other QED processes, is performed by subtracting the self-energy in
    free space from the self-energy calculated in the medium. Surprisingly, we find
    a number of previously unknown phenomena yielding corrections to the conventional
    Cherenkov effect that could be observed in current experiments. Specifically,
    the Cherenkov velocity threshold increases relative to the famous conventional
    theory. This modification to the conventional theory, which can be non-negligible
    in realistic scenarios, should result in the suppression of spontaneous emission
    in readily available experiments. Finally, we reveal a bifurcation process creating
    radiation into new Cherenkov angles, occurring in the strong-coupling regime,
    which would be realizable by considering the radiation dynamics of highly charged
    ions. Our results shed light on QED phenomena at short times and reveal surprising
    new physics in the Cherenkov effect."
article_number: '041013'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Charles
  full_name: Roques-Carmes, Charles
  id: e2e68fc9-6505-11ef-a541-eb4e72cc3e82
  last_name: Roques-Carmes
- first_name: Nicholas
  full_name: Rivera, Nicholas
  last_name: Rivera
- first_name: John D.
  full_name: Joannopoulos, John D.
  last_name: Joannopoulos
- first_name: Marin
  full_name: Soljačić, Marin
  last_name: Soljačić
- first_name: Ido
  full_name: Kaminer, Ido
  last_name: Kaminer
citation:
  ama: Roques-Carmes C, Rivera N, Joannopoulos JD, Soljačić M, Kaminer I. Nonperturbative
    quantum electrodynamics in the Cherenkov effect. <i>Physical Review X</i>. 2018;8(4).
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.8.041013">10.1103/physrevx.8.041013</a>
  apa: Roques-Carmes, C., Rivera, N., Joannopoulos, J. D., Soljačić, M., &#38; Kaminer,
    I. (2018). Nonperturbative quantum electrodynamics in the Cherenkov effect. <i>Physical
    Review X</i>. American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.8.041013">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.8.041013</a>
  chicago: Roques-Carmes, Charles, Nicholas Rivera, John D. Joannopoulos, Marin Soljačić,
    and Ido Kaminer. “Nonperturbative Quantum Electrodynamics in the Cherenkov Effect.”
    <i>Physical Review X</i>. American Physical Society, 2018. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.8.041013">https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.8.041013</a>.
  ieee: C. Roques-Carmes, N. Rivera, J. D. Joannopoulos, M. Soljačić, and I. Kaminer,
    “Nonperturbative quantum electrodynamics in the Cherenkov effect,” <i>Physical
    Review X</i>, vol. 8, no. 4. American Physical Society, 2018.
  ista: Roques-Carmes C, Rivera N, Joannopoulos JD, Soljačić M, Kaminer I. 2018. Nonperturbative
    quantum electrodynamics in the Cherenkov effect. Physical Review X. 8(4), 041013.
  mla: Roques-Carmes, Charles, et al. “Nonperturbative Quantum Electrodynamics in
    the Cherenkov Effect.” <i>Physical Review X</i>, vol. 8, no. 4, 041013, American
    Physical Society, 2018, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.8.041013">10.1103/physrevx.8.041013</a>.
  short: C. Roques-Carmes, N. Rivera, J.D. Joannopoulos, M. Soljačić, I. Kaminer,
    Physical Review X 8 (2018).
date_created: 2026-03-30T12:22:47Z
date_published: 2018-10-17T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-13T13:28:00Z
day: '17'
ddc:
- '530'
doi: 10.1103/physrevx.8.041013
extern: '1'
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '         8'
issue: '4'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.8.041013
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Physical Review X
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2160-3308
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Nonperturbative quantum electrodynamics in the Cherenkov effect
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 8
year: '2018'
...