Photon scattering with a moving electron

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around deriving a formula for the Compton equation with a moving electron, as opposed to the traditional scenario where the electron is at rest. The original poster expresses difficulty in managing the additional terms that arise when incorporating the electron's initial momentum and energy.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants suggest considering calculations in the rest frame of the electron to simplify the derivation, and then transforming back to the original frame. There is also mention of using established scattering formulas for different velocity regimes.

Discussion Status

Some participants have offered guidance on how to approach the problem by suggesting a frame transformation, while others have noted the challenges faced by the original poster in their attempts to derive the formula directly. Multiple perspectives on the problem are being explored without a clear consensus.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions struggling with the problem in the rest-frame of Earth, indicating potential constraints related to the chosen reference frame for the calculations.

wakko101
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Hello,

The problem I have is trying to derive a formula for the compton equation, but instead of having the electron at rest, it is moving in the same direction as the incident photon. I've tried deriving it in the same manner as deriving it for an electron at rest (ie. I've simply made the change that the initial momentum and energy of the electron is no longer 0, with electron initial and final energies being of the form E=sqrt(m^2c^4 + p^2c^2)), but it seems to me that doing so results in too many extra terms that don't cancel out.

Is there something I'm missing here?

Thanks,
W. =)
 
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Best to do the calculation in the frame where the electron is initially at rest, so that you can use the Compton scattering formula. Then transform to the original frame. Or, if you're comfortable with the derivation of the Compton scattering formula, just do the usual transform to the zero-momentum frame where things are easy, then back out.
 
genneth said:
Best to do the calculation in the frame where the electron is initially at rest, so that you can use the Compton scattering formula. Then transform to the original frame. Or, if you're comfortable with the derivation of the Compton scattering formula, just do the usual transform to the zero-momentum frame where things are easy, then back out.

Thanks for your post, I messed a lot with this problem trying to solve it in the rest-frame of earth.
 
Hi,
I think Thomson and Kleinn -Nishina scattering formulas appllies at lower and higher velocities respectively-see WIKI
Shankar
 

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