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Classical Rutherford Problem Sheet

This document is a homework sheet for the course PHY F343: Nuclear and Particle Physics at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, for the second semester of 2024-25. It includes various problems related to quantum mechanics, relativistic kinematics, classical mechanics, and Rutherford scattering. Each problem requires students to apply theoretical concepts to derive solutions or calculate specific values.

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20 views2 pages

Classical Rutherford Problem Sheet

This document is a homework sheet for the course PHY F343: Nuclear and Particle Physics at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, for the second semester of 2024-25. It includes various problems related to quantum mechanics, relativistic kinematics, classical mechanics, and Rutherford scattering. Each problem requires students to apply theoretical concepts to derive solutions or calculate specific values.

Uploaded by

rishithvulli3
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

Second Semester 2024–25


PHY F343: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Homework Sheet 01
Date: 08 January 2025

Problems on Prerequisites

P1. (Quantum Mechanics) Sketch the lowest energy stationery state solution for the following 1-D
potentials:

(a) Infinite potential well: V (x) = 0 for 0 ≤ x ≤ a, and ∞ otherwise.


(b) Dirac-Delta potential: V (x) = −|α| δ(x)
(c) Finite potential well: V (x) = −V0 for −a ≤ x ≤ a, and 0 otherwise.

Note that you only have to sketch the solution, no derivation necessary. Note how the features from
solutions of both infinite potential well and Dirac-delta potential are present in the solution for the
finite potential well.

P2. (Quantum Mechanics) What is the dimension of wave-function of a particle in an N-dimensional


potential well?

P3. (Relativistic Kinematics/EMT-II) A massless particle with energy E strikes another particle at
rest. If the mass of target particle is M (such that E ≫ M c2 ), determine the Mandelstam variable
s = (p1 + p2 )2 . Remember that p1,2 are four-vectors.

P4. (Basic Mechanics) A particle of mass m is moving along the line y = h with constant non-
relativistic velocity v. Find the angular momentum of this particle about the origin.

Problems on Rutherford Scattering in Classical Mechanics

P1. (Classical elastic hard-sphere scattering) Suppose a ping-pong ball elastically scatters off a bowling
ball of radius R. Calculate the cross-section for this interaction. You may follow the following steps:

1. Find the relation between impact factor b and scattering angle θ. Note that the scattering angle
is 0 if b ≥ R.

2. Find the differential cross-section using

dσ b db
=
dΩ sin θ dθ

3. Find the total cross-section by integrating over all solid angles and interpret the result.
Figure 1: The trajectory of the alpha particle is shown in green. Figure for P2.

P2. (Rutherford Scattering in Classical Mechanics) Derive the cross-section for the scattering of α-
particles in a Coulomb potential using classical mechanics. You may follow the following steps (refer
to Figure 1):

1. Evaluate the change in py between asymptotic states first using kinematics, then by integrating
the impulse due to the Coulomb interaction. Equate the two quantities and use conservation of
angular momentum to substitute the time-integral to ϕ-integral. Be careful of the limits! This
gives you the impact factor as
k θ
b= cot
2Ekin 2
2. Obtain the differential cross-section using the standard formula (see P1.2). Interpret why db/dθ
is negative.

3. Integrate to obtain the total cross-section.

P3. In the class, we have obtained the distance of closest approach (dmin ) for complete back-scattering.
Find dmin for any scattering angle θ. You can follow the discussion in Goldstein

P4. (Tutorial Test PYQ) In Rutherford Scattering of α-particles (42 He) with lead (20882 Pb) target, find
the distance of closest approach (in fm) for scattering angle θ = 60°. The kinetic energy of α-particles
is 5 MeV. (ℏ = c = 1, ℏc ≈ 200 MeV fm, e2 /4πε0 ℏc ≈ 1/137)

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