High-intensity-laser-electron scattering

In the field of an intense laser, photon-electron scattering becomes nonlinear when the oscillatory energy of the electron approaches its rest mass, The electron wave function is dressed by the field with a concomitant increase in the effective electron mass. When the photon energy in the electron rest frame is comparable to the electron rest mass, multiphoton Compton scattering occurs. When the photon energy is significantly lower than the electron rest mass, the electron acquires momentum from the photon field and emits harmonics. This paper reviews nonlinear photon-electron scattering processes and results from two recent experiments where they have been observed.