6
$\begingroup$

I'm looking for the simplest demonstration of the Klein-Nishina formula, from the Dirac equation without the field described as a quantum operator:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein%E2%80%93Nishina_formula

Consider $\psi$ as a "classical" spinor field (not a quantum operator), satisfying the Dirac equation : $$\tag{1} \gamma^a \partial_a\psi + i m \psi = 0. $$ How can we deduce the following Klein-Nishina formula? $$\tag{2} \frac{d\sigma}{d\Omega} = \frac{r_{\mathrm{c}}^2}{2} \Big( P(E, \vartheta) + \frac{1}{P(E, \vartheta)} - \sin^2 \vartheta \Big) P^2(E, \vartheta), $$ where $r_{\mathrm{c}}$ is the classical electron radius and $$\tag{3} P(E, \vartheta) = \frac{1}{1 + \frac{E}{m c^2}(1 - \cos{\vartheta})}. $$ The formula (2) was derived in 1928 to the lowest non-trivial order, after Dirac published his equation and before QFT was formulated (i.e. QED), so I'm expecting that the derivation isn't very complicated.

$\endgroup$
6
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Do you want the QFT calculation or the pre-QFT one? The former can be found in any QFT book, and the latter can be found in the original paper (which is 16 pages long; the calculation is very cumbersome and too long to reproduce here). $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 15:28
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ 16 pages of calculations ? Geez, I was expecting something relatively simple for a pre-QFT calculation at the lowest order. I'm surprised by this. How can I find the original paper in PDF format? I don't have access to journals. $\endgroup$
    – Cham
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 15:46
  • $\begingroup$ @accidentalfouriertransform Could you provide a reference? $\endgroup$
    – my2cts
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 20:38
  • $\begingroup$ @my2cts the wikipedia page contains the exact two references I would cite here. $\endgroup$ Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 21:14
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Eurk! The original paper is in german. Can't read this. :-( I'm pretty convinced the Klein-Nishina formula could be derived relatively easily. Or I would be interested to see the main steps to it. $\endgroup$
    – Cham
    Commented Jul 12, 2018 at 0:09

1 Answer 1

3
$\begingroup$

In the center of mass frame, let $p_1$ be the inbound photon, $p_2$ the inbound electron, $p_3$ the scattered photon, $p_4$ the scattered electron.

\begin{equation*} p_1=\begin{pmatrix}\omega\\0\\0\\ \omega\end{pmatrix} \qquad p_2=\begin{pmatrix}E\\0\\0\\-\omega\end{pmatrix} \qquad p_3=\begin{pmatrix} \omega\\ \omega\sin\theta\cos\phi\\ \omega\sin\theta\sin\phi\\ \omega\cos\theta \end{pmatrix} \qquad p_4=\begin{pmatrix} E\\ -\omega\sin\theta\cos\phi\\ -\omega\sin\theta\sin\phi\\ -\omega\cos\theta \end{pmatrix} \end{equation*}

where $E=\sqrt{\omega^2+m^2}$.

It is easy to show that

\begin{equation} \langle|\mathcal{M}|^2\rangle = \frac{e^4}{4} \left( \frac{f_{11}}{(s-m^2)^2} +\frac{f_{12}}{(s-m^2)(u-m^2)} +\frac{f_{12}^*}{(s-m^2)(u-m^2)} +\frac{f_{22}}{(u-m^2)^2} \right) \end{equation}

where

\begin{equation} \begin{aligned} f_{11}&=-8 s u + 24 s m^2 + 8 u m^2 + 8 m^4 \\ f_{12}&=8 s m^2 + 8 u m^2 + 16 m^4 \\ f_{22}&=-8 s u + 8 s m^2 + 24 u m^2 + 8 m^4 \end{aligned} \end{equation}

for the Mandelstam variables $s=(p_1+p_2)^2$, $t=(p_1-p_3)^2$, $u=(p_1-p_4)^2$.

Next, apply a Lorentz boost to go from the center of mass frame to the lab frame in which the electron is at rest.

\begin{equation*} \Lambda= \begin{pmatrix} E/m & 0 & 0 & \omega/m\\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 0\\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0\\ \omega/m & 0 & 0 & E/m \end{pmatrix}, \qquad \Lambda p_2=\begin{pmatrix}m \\ 0 \\ 0 \\ 0\end{pmatrix} \end{equation*}

The Mandelstam variables are invariant under a boost. \begin{equation} \begin{aligned} s&=(p_1+p_2)^2=(\Lambda p_1+\Lambda p_2)^2 \\ t&=(p_1-p_3)^2=(\Lambda p_1-\Lambda p_3)^2 \\ u&=(p_1-p_4)^2=(\Lambda p_1-\Lambda p_4)^2 \end{aligned} \end{equation}

In the lab frame, let $\omega_L$ be the angular frequency of the incident photon and let $\omega_L'$ be the angular frequency of the scattered photon. \begin{equation} \begin{aligned} \omega_L&=\Lambda p_1\cdot(1,0,0,0)=\frac{\omega^2}{m}+\frac{\omega E}{m} \\ \omega_L'&=\Lambda p_3\cdot(1,0,0,0)=\frac{\omega^2\cos\theta}{m}+\frac{\omega E}{m} \end{aligned} \end{equation}

It follows that \begin{equation} \begin{aligned} s&=(p_1+p_2)^2=2m\omega_L+m^2 \\ t&=(p_1-p_3)^2=2m(\omega_L' - \omega_L) \\ u&=(p_1-p_4)^2=-2 m \omega_L' + m^2 \end{aligned} \end{equation}

Compute $\langle|\mathcal{M}|^2\rangle$ from $s$, $t$, and $u$ that involve $\omega_L$ and $\omega_L'$. \begin{equation*} \langle|\mathcal{M}|^2\rangle= 2e^4\left( \frac{\omega_L}{\omega_L'}+\frac{\omega_L'}{\omega_L} +\left(\frac{m}{\omega_L}-\frac{m}{\omega_L'}+1\right)^2-1 \right) \end{equation*}

From the Compton formula \begin{equation*} \frac{1}{\omega_L'}-\frac{1}{\omega_L}=\frac{1-\cos\theta_L}{m} \end{equation*}

we have \begin{equation*} \cos\theta_L=\frac{m}{\omega_L}-\frac{m}{\omega_L'}+1 \end{equation*}

Hence \begin{equation*} \langle|\mathcal{M}|^2\rangle= 2e^4\left( \frac{\omega_L}{\omega_L'}+\frac{\omega_L'}{\omega_L}+\cos^2\theta_L-1 \right) \end{equation*}

The differential cross section for Compton scattering is \begin{equation*} \frac{d\sigma}{d\Omega}\propto \left(\frac{\omega_L'}{\omega_L}\right)^2\langle|\mathcal{M}|^2\rangle \end{equation*}

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ For a complete derivation see eigenmath.org/compton-scattering.pdf $\endgroup$
    – user250986
    Commented Jan 6, 2020 at 19:27
  • $\begingroup$ @user250986 The pdf file is not available now. $\endgroup$
    – poisson
    Commented Mar 2, 2023 at 1:32

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.