A particle of mass m moves in three dimensions subject to a potential V(r) localised near the origin. The wavefunction for a scattering process with incident particle of wavevector k is denoted ψ(k,r). With reference to the asymptotic form of ψ, define the scattering amplitude f(k,k′), where k′ is the wavevector of the outgoing particle with ∣k′∣=∣k∣=k.
By recasting the Schrödinger equation for ψ(k,r) as an integral equation, show that
f(k,k′)=−2πℏ2m∫d3r′exp(−ik′⋅r′)V(r′)ψ(k,r′)
[You may assume that
G(k;r)=−4π∣r∣1exp(ik∣r∣)
is the Green's function for ∇2+k2 which obeys the appropriate boundary conditions for a scattering solution.]
Now suppose V(r)=λU(r), where λ≪1 is a dimensionless constant. Determine the first two non-zero terms in the expansion of f(k,k′) in powers of λ, giving each term explicitly as an integral over one or more position variables r,r′,…
Evaluate the contribution to f(k,k′) of order λ in the case U(r)=δ(∣r∣−a), expressing the answer as a function of a,k and the scattering angle θ (defined so that k⋅k′=k2cosθ).