Principles of Quantum Mechanics · Problem 19.23

Scattering Theory — R. Shankar

Physics — Quantum Mechanics · scattering-partial-waves-high-energy

Problem

At high energies, many partial waves contribute to the scattering. Show that in this limit the total cross section for a hard sphere of radius aa approaches 2πa22\pi a^2. This is twice the classical result πa2\pi a^2; explain physically why the quantum result is twice as large (the ``shadow scattering'' contribution).

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