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arXiv:2111.03136 · Physical Review A

Multiple scattering model of the quantum random Lorentz gas

David Gaspard, Jean-Marc Sparenberg

Published Apr 7, 2022• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A multiple scattering model of a quantum particle interacting with a random Lorentz gas of fixed point scatterers is established in an Euclidean space of arbitrary dimension. At the core of the model, the scattering amplitude for the point scatterers is derived in detail and expressed in terms of the scattering length. The fundamental properties of the model, such as the cross section and the scattering matrix, are calculated. In addition, the model is shown to verify the optical theorem and thus probability conservation. Finally, the differential and total cross sections are numerically computed in two situations whether the Lorentz gas is smaller or larger than the mean free path. A distinct Airy diffraction peak is obtained for a large enough number of scatterers. This observation is related to the extinction paradox.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.105.042204

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A multiple scattering model of a quantum particle interacting with a random Lorentz gas of fixed point scatterers is established in an Euclidean space of arbitrary dimension. At the core of the model, the scattering amplitude for the point scatterers is derived in detail and expressed in terms of the scattering length. The fundamental properties of the model, such as the cross section and the scattering matrix, are calculated. In addition, the model is shown to verify the optical theorem and thus probability conservation. Finally, the differential and total cross sections are numerically computed in two situations whether the Lorentz gas is smaller or larger than the mean free path. A distinct Airy diffraction peak is obtained for a large enough number of scatterers. This observation is related to the extinction paradox.
The interaction of a quantum particle with a gaseous detector is studied in the quantum-mechanical state space of the particle-detector system by means of a simple stationary scattering 3D model. The particle is assumed to interact with [Formula: see text] two-level point-like scatterers depicting the atoms of the detector. Due to the contact interaction, the particle scatters off the atoms in isotropic spherical waves. Remarkably, the Lippmann–Schwinger equation of this multiple scattering problem can be exactly solved in a nonperturbative way. The aim is to analyze the influence of the initial microstate of the detector on the observed outcome, and to understand the mechanism of track formation in gaseous detectors. It is shown that the differential cross-section of excitation must be large enough in the forward direction to get the formation of tracks. In addition, the relatively small influence of atomic positions is highlighted. These results are explained through a perturbative calculation.
We investigate the non-relativistic scattering of a plane wave by a vertical segment formulating the problem in terms of the Lippmann–Schwinger equation in two spatial dimensions. Adjusting the coupling strength function we show how to implement the scattering by a system of multiple slits and by a Cantor set. We present detailed calculations of the scattered wave function for the line segment, as well as for the single, double, and multiple slits. We define reflection and transmission functions that are position-dependent in a defined region. From these results, we obtain the probability densities and differential and total cross-sections for these problems.
The propagation of a spherical wave through a two-dimensional random Lorentz gas composed of small fixed scatterers is studied. Inspired by the Mott problem (how an initially isotropic quantum wave can give rise to a single particle-like track), we investigate, on a schematic model, whether such a directional behavior can emerge purely from the multiscattering process, without any explicit measurement or decoherence mechanism. Using the Foldy-Lax formalism, we derive the far-field angular behavior of the wavefunction, and introduce a directionality vector to quantify its anisotropy and identify its preferred direction. Numerical simulations reveal the existence of a strongly directional regime within a specific wavenumber range, which emerges from multiscattering with more than 100100100 scatterers and which can be related to Anderson localization.
In this chapter we discuss the quantum theory of scattering of incident particles from the target where an incident beam has point particles, scattering is elastic, the scattering potential is time independent, there is no multiple scattering, and the interaction between an incident particle and a scattering center is described by the potential that depends only on relative positions of particles. Scattering cross-section and frame of reference, asymptotic expansion of wave function and formal expression for scattering amplitude, partial wave analysis, integral equation, and the Born approximation are covered in the chapter, in a broader sense. Free particle and asymptotic solutions, scattering amplitude and phase shift, optical theorem, scattering length, phase shift and its interpretation, scattering by a square well potential and by hard sphere potential, and interpretation of the phase shift and its expression are explained with the use of partial wave analysis. Scattering from bare and screened potentials within the Born approximation, validity of the Born approximation, and the transformation from the center of a mass coordinate system to a laboratory coordinate system are written towards the end of the chapter.
We study scattering of three equal-mass particles in one dimension. Integrable interactions are synonymous with nondiffractive scattering, meaning that the set of incoming momenta for any scattering event coincides with the set of outgoing momenta. A system is integrable if the two-particle scattering matrix obeys the Yang-Baxter equation. Nonintegrable interactions correspond to diffractive scattering, where the set of outgoing momenta may take on all values consistent with energy and momentum conservation. Such processes play a vital role in the kinetics of one-dimensional gases, where binary collisions are unable to alter the distribution function. When integrability is broken weakly, the result is a small diffractive scattering amplitude. Our main result is a simple formula for the diffractive part of the scattering amplitude, when the violation of the Yang-Baxter equation is small. Although the derivation is given for $\ensuremath{\delta}$-function interactions, the result depends only on the two-particle scattering matrix, and should therefore also apply to finite-range interactions close to integrable.
We describe a method for obtaining the scattering matrix for nuclear or chemical reactions on a finite lattice. Aside from the preparation of the initial and final states as wave packets, the only other operation required is unitary time evolution, making this approach ideal for simulations on quantum hardware. The central quantity is a time-dependent overlap between incoming and outgoing wave packets whose Fourier transform corresponds to the scattering matrix at fixed energy, from which one can calculate elastic and inelastic cross sections for reactions involving two interacting clusters. Working in Cartesian coordinates enables an efficient encoding of the problem on quantum hardware via the first quantization mapping, with favorable qubit scaling for describing asymptotic scattering states. Within this framework, we describe a quantum algorithm for probing the scattering amplitude through different angles, including the forward direction, which provides access to the total cross section via the optical theorem. We demonstrate our methods through a series of numerical examples, for both elastic and inelastic processes, comparing against exact calculations. The techniques we describe can more readily be extended to a large number of constituent particles than other existing approaches, once fault-tolerant quantum hardware becomes available.