Hanle-Zeeman Redistribution Matrix. II. Comparison of Classical and Quantum Electrodynamic Approaches

Abstract

The Hanle-Zeeman redistribution matrix accounts for the intricately coupled correlations in frequency, angle, and polarization between the incoming and outgoing radiation and embodies the physics of the scattering process. We show explicitly for a scattering transition the equivalence between the Hanle-Zeeman redistribution matrix that is derived through quantum electrodynamics and the one derived through classical, time-dependent oscillator theory. This equivalence holds for all strengths and directions of the magnetic field. Several aspects of the Hanle-Zeeman redistribution matrix are illustrated, and explicit algebraic expressions are given, which are of practical use for the polarized line transfer computations. While the efficiency of the Hanle effect is usually confined to the line core, we show how elastic collisions can produce a “wing Hanle effect” as well under favorable conditions in the solar atmosphere.