Orthogonalization Assumption in Atomic Scattering Theory

Author

Vladimir E. Bubelev
Don H. Madison, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

The issue of orthogonality between initial and final state wavefunctions in the evaluation of scattering amplitudes is addressed. Over the years, various treatments of this issue may be found ranging from artificially modifying wavefunctions to ensure orthogonality to totally ignoring the issue. The assumption that initial and final states scattering wavefunctions should be orthogonal is examined for the case of electron- hydrogen scattering and it is shown that enforcing orthogonality introduces spurious effects.

Recommended Citation

V. E. Bubelev and D. H. Madison, "Orthogonalization Assumption in Atomic Scattering Theory," Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, vol. 26, no. 20, pp. 3541 - 3547, Institute of Physics - IOP Publishing, Oct 1993.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-4075/26/20/014

Department(s)

Physics

Keywords and Phrases

Atomic scattering; Electron-hydrogen scattering; Final state; Orthogonality; Orthogonalization; Scattering amplitudes; Spurious effects; Hydrogen

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0953-4075

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 1993 Institute of Physics - IOP Publishing, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Oct 1993