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Compton Effect (Compton Scattering)

The Compton effect describes the scattering of photons by charged particles like electrons. When a photon collides with an electron, it transfers some of its energy to the electron. As a result, the photon's wavelength increases in accordance with Planck's relationship between wavelength and frequency. The extent of the wavelength shift depends on the angle of scattering. Pair production cannot occur from a single photon in empty space because momentum cannot be conserved without another particle like an atomic nucleus.

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137 views29 pages

Compton Effect (Compton Scattering)

The Compton effect describes the scattering of photons by charged particles like electrons. When a photon collides with an electron, it transfers some of its energy to the electron. As a result, the photon's wavelength increases in accordance with Planck's relationship between wavelength and frequency. The extent of the wavelength shift depends on the angle of scattering. Pair production cannot occur from a single photon in empty space because momentum cannot be conserved without another particle like an atomic nucleus.

Uploaded by

Mohammad Hashim
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 PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Compton Effect

(Compton Scattering)
• The scattering of photons from charged particles is called
Compton scattering after Arthur Compton who was the first
to measure photon-electron scattering in 1922. When the
incoming photon gives part of its energy to the electron, then
the scattered photon has lower energy and according to the
Plank relationship has lower frequency and longer
wavelength. The wavelength change in such scattering
depends only upon the angle of scattering for a given target
particle.
According to law of conservation of energy

ℎ𝜈 + 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 = ℎ𝜈 ′ + 𝑘𝑒 + 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
Thus 𝑘𝑒 = ℎ𝜈 − ℎ𝜈 ′ ………(1)

According to law of conservation of momentum along x-axis


ℎ𝜈 ℎ𝜈′
+0= cos 𝜑 + 𝑝 cos 𝜃
𝑐 𝑐
Thus 𝑝𝑐 cos 𝜃 = ℎ𝜈 − ℎ𝜈′ cos 𝜑 ……………(2)
According to law of conservation of momentum along y-axis

ℎ𝜈′
0+0= sin 𝜑 − 𝑝 sin 𝜃
𝑐
Thus 𝑝𝑐 sin 𝜃 = ℎ𝜈′ sin 𝜑 ………….(3)

Squaring equation (2) & (3) and adding them we get

2
𝑝2 𝑐 2 = ℎ2 𝜈 2 − 2ℎ𝜈ℎ𝜈 ′ cos 𝜑 + ℎ2 𝜈 ′ 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜑 + ℎ2 𝜈′2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜑
𝑝2 𝑐 2 = ℎ2 𝜈 2 − 2ℎ𝜈ℎ𝜈 ′ cos 𝜑 + ℎ2 𝜈′2 …………(4)
By relativistic formula we know that total energy of any particle
= KE + rest mass energy

𝐸 = 𝑘𝑒 + 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 = 𝑝2 𝑐 2 + 𝑚𝑜2 𝑐 4
(𝑘𝑒 + 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 )2 = 𝑝2 𝑐 2 + 𝑚𝑜2 𝑐 4
𝑘𝑒2 + 2𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 + 𝑚𝑜2 𝑐 4 = 𝑝2 𝑐 2 + 𝑚𝑜2 𝑐 4
𝑝2 𝑐 2 = 𝑘𝑒2 + 2𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 𝑘𝑒
𝑝2 𝑐 2 = (ℎ𝜈 − ℎ𝜈 ′ )2 +2𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 (ℎ𝜈 − ℎ𝜈 ′ )
2
𝑝2 𝑐 2 = ℎ2 𝜈 2 − 2ℎ𝜈ℎ𝜈 ′ + 2
ℎ 𝜈 ′ + 2ℎ(𝜈 − 𝜈 ′ )𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
…..(5)
Equating equation (4)&(5), we get

𝜈 − 𝜈 ′ 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 − ℎ𝜈𝜈 ′ = −ℎ𝜈𝜈′ cos 𝜑


𝜈 − 𝜈 ′ 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 = ℎ𝜈𝜈 ′ − ℎ𝜈𝜈 ′ cos 𝜑
𝜈 − 𝜈 ′ 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2 = ℎ𝜈𝜈′(1 − cos 𝜑)
ℎ𝜈𝜈 ′
𝜈 − 𝜈′ = 2
(1 − cos 𝜑)
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
𝜈 − 𝜈′ ℎ
= 2
(1 − cos 𝜑)
𝜈𝜈′ 𝑚𝑜 𝑐
1 1 ℎ
− = 2
(1 − cos 𝜑)
𝜈′ 𝜈 𝑚𝑜 𝑐
𝜆′ 𝜆 ℎ
− = 2
1 − cos 𝜑
𝑐 𝑐 𝑚𝑜 𝑐
′
ℎ
𝜆 −𝜆 = (1 − cos 𝜑)
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
ℎ
Δ𝜆 = (1 − cos 𝜑)
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
Compton Shift
Compton Wavelength

= 2.426 x 10-12 m
= 2.426 pm
= 0.24 Å
Compton Effect not observed for visible light

• The change in wavelength due to Compton effect is given by:

• = 0.024 Å
• The maximum value of is 2 when ϕ = 180°, so that
the maximum wavelength change possible is 0.048 Å or roughly 0.05Å
only.
• This means that Compton effect can be detected
only for those radiations whose wavelength is
not greater than a few Å. For example, for λ=5Å,
there is a maximum wavelength-change of 1%,
while for λ=1Å there is a 5% change. For visible
light (λ≈5000Å) the maximum wavelength change
(0.05Å) is only about 0.001% of the initial
wavelength which is undetectable.
Kinetic energy of Scattered (recoil) electron:
From Eq. (1) we know that
𝑘𝑒 = ℎ(𝜈 − 𝜈 ′ )
𝜈′ 𝜆
= ℎ𝜈 1 − = ℎ𝜈(1 − ′ )
𝜈 𝜆
𝜆′ − 𝜆 Δ𝜆
= ℎ𝜈 ′
= ℎ𝜈
𝜆 𝜆 + Δ𝜆
ℎ
ℎ𝜈 1 − cos 𝜑
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
𝑘𝑒 =
ℎ
𝜆+ 1 − cos 𝜑
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
ℎ
ℎ𝜈 1 − cos 𝜑
𝑚𝑜 𝑐𝜆
=
ℎ
1+ 1 − cos 𝜑
𝑚𝑜 𝑐𝜆
ℎ𝜈𝛼(1 − cos 𝜑)
𝑘𝑒 =
1 + 𝛼(1 − cos 𝜑)
Where,

ℎ ℎ𝜈
𝛼= =
𝑚𝑜 𝑐𝜆 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
If 𝜑 = 0, 𝐸 = 0
𝜋 ℎ𝜈𝛼
If 𝜑 = ,𝐸 =
2 1+𝛼
ℎ𝜈2𝛼
If 𝜑 = 𝜋 = 180, 𝐸𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
1+2𝛼
Thus, the maximum energy that the photon can transfer to the electron
2𝛼
is ℎ𝜈 which is less than ℎ𝜈, since 𝛼 is a positive quantity. Hence,
1+2𝛼
the incident photon cannot transfer its entire energy to the electron.

Energy of Scattered photon:


The change in wavelength in Compton Scattering is given by,
ℎ
Δ𝜆 = 𝜆′ −𝜆 = (1 − cos 𝜑)
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
𝑐 𝑐 ℎ
− = (1 − cos 𝜑)
𝜈′ 𝜈 𝑚𝑜 𝑐
𝜈 − 𝜈′ ℎ
𝑐 ′
= (1 − cos 𝜑)
𝜈𝜈 𝑚𝑜 𝑐
′
ℎ𝜈𝜈
𝜈 − 𝜈′ = 2
(1 − cos 𝜑)
𝑚𝑜 𝑐
ℎ𝜈ℎ𝜈′(1 − cos 𝜑)
ℎ𝜈 − ℎ𝜈 ′ =
𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
Energy of incident photon ℎ𝜈 = 𝐸
Energy of the scattered photon ℎ𝜈 ′ = 𝐸 ′ , then
𝐸𝐸 ′ 1 − cos 𝜑
𝐸 − 𝐸′ =
𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
𝐸𝐸′(1 − cos 𝜑)
′
𝐸=𝐸 +
𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
𝐸(1 − cos 𝜑)
𝐸 = 𝐸′ 1 +
𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
𝐸
𝐸′ =
𝐸 1 − cos 𝜑
1+
𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
ℎ𝜈
𝐸′ =
1 + 𝛼(1 − cos 𝜑)
ℎ𝜈
𝐸′𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
1 + 2𝛼
Pair Production
• Pair production is a phenomenon of nature in
which energy is converted to mass. Since the
momentum of the initial photon must be absorbed
by something, pair production can not occur in
empty space out of a single photon, the nucleus is
needed to conserve both momentum and energy.
• Pair production is observed to occur when a
photon of energy ≥ 1.02 MeV passes near a heavy
nucleus.
• Rest mass energy of electron = 0.51 MeV
Pair Annihilation
• The inverse of pair production occurs when a
positron is near an electron and the two come
together under the influence of their opposite
electric charges. Both particles vanish
simultaneously, with the lost mass appearing as
energy in the form of two gamma ray photons.
Show that pair production can not
take place in empty space.

p
θ p cos θ

hν/c θ p cos θ

p
• For conservation of energy

hν = 2 m c2
Here hν is the photon energy and m c2 is the total
energy of each member of electron-positron pair. Fig.
shows a vector diagram of the linear momenta of the
photon, electron and positron. The angle θ is equal in
order that momentum be conserved in the transverse
direction. In the direction of motion of the photon, for
momentum to be conserved it must be true that:
hν/c = 2 p cos θ
Or hν = 2 pc cos θ
Since p=mv for electron and positron
• hν = 2 mvc cos θ
• hν = 2 mc2 (v/c)cos θ
• Because v/c ˂ 1 and cos θ ≤ 1
• hv ˂ 2 mc2

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