Understanding Thomson Scattering for Non-Experts

[cscott]

Can anybody provide me with information on thomson scattering for someone who hasn't done electrodynamics? I find ones like http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/jk1/lectures/node85.html but I don't know anything about solid angles and the scattering cross section is confusing me. I'm specifically interested in being able to show that the frequency of the incident photon is equal to the frequency of the scattered photon.

 

[cscott]

In the link I provided they say

It is clear that the differential scattering cross section is independent of the frequency of the incident wave, and is also symmetric with respect to forward and backward scattering. The frequency of the scattered radiation is the same as that of the incident radiation.

Is the frequency of the scattered radiation equal to that of the incident radiation because the differential scattering cross-section is independent of the incident radiation?

 

[cscott]

No one? Isn't this standard undergrad physics :P

 

[cscott]

One more bump.