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Can electron by Compton scattering be considered as a typical detector of the photon propagation

Vladan Panković, D. Kapor, M. Krmar

Published Jun 11, 2010• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In this work we consider a possibility that Compton scattering can be considered as a typical measurement (detection) procedure within which electron behaves as the measuring apparatus, i.e. detector (pointer) of the propagation of the photon as the measured object. It represents a realistic variant of the old gendanken (though) experiment (discussed by Einstein, Bohr, Dirac, Feynman) of the interaction between the single photon as the measured object and a movable mirror as the measuring apparatus, i.e. detector (pointer). Here collapse by measurement is successfully modeled by spontaneous (non-dynamical) unitary symmetry (superposition) breaking (effective hiding) representing an especial case of the spontaneous (non-dynamical) breaking (effective hiding) of the dynamical symmetries. All this is full agreement with all existing experimental data and represents the definitive solution of the old problem of micro theoretical foundation of measurement or old problem of the foundation of quantum mechanics as a local (luminal) physical theory.

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The Compton effect is conventionally represented as a collision between a photon and an electron, with the observed wavelength shift determined by energy--momentum conservation and scattering geometry. This article revisits the event from a complementary perspective. Beginning from the experimental relation itself and from the wave side of wave--particle duality, we explore the Compton encounter as a finite dynamical process involving geometry, response, coupling, reorganization, and characteristic times. Two heuristic encounters guide the analysis. A stone striking a responsive surface foregrounds deformation, resistance, and relaxation, while a gravitational assist foregrounds trajectory and path-dependent exchange. These perspectives are then returned to a vortical reading of the electron and electromagnetic radiation. We distinguish an interaction time \(\tau_{\rm int}\) from a relaxation time \(\tau_{\rm relax}\), introduce the provisional ratio \(\mathcal R_{\tau}=\tau_{\rm int}/\tau_{\rm relax}\), and organize geometry, energetic cost, and coupling into a dynamical grammar of the encounter. The comparison is then extended to the photoelectric effect. Placing the naked experimental features of both phenomena side by side reveals a common radiation--matter interaction structure together with different accessible outcomes. This motivates the speculative possibility that Compton scattering and photoelectric emission occupy neighbouring regimes within a broader landscape of radiation--matter encounters. A provisional quantity, \(R_{\rm avail}\), is introduced as a possible measure of the capacity of an electronic structure and its local environment to accommodate and redistribute an incoming perturbation within a given regime. The article therefore proposes an enlargement of the Compton problem: from reproducing the observed scattering relation to investigating the physical dynamics that may connect distinct radiation--matter outcomes.

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POSSIBLE EXPERIMENTS ON WAVE FUNCTION LOCALIZATION DUE TO COMPTON SCATTERING.

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The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and the Measurement Process

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Measurement Science and Technology•Oct 1, 1998•22 citations
In this work we consider a possibility that Compton scattering can be considered as a typical measurement (detection) procedure within which electron behaves as the measuring apparatus, i.e. detector (pointer) of the propagation of the photon as the measured object. It represents a realistic variant of the old gendanken (though) experiment (discussed by Einstein, Bohr, Dirac, Feynman) of the interaction between the single photon as the measured object and a movable mirror as the measuring apparatus, i.e. detector (pointer). Here collapse by measurement is successfully modeled by spontaneous (non-dynamical) unitary symmetry (superposition) breaking (effective hiding) representing an especial case of the spontaneous (non-dynamical) breaking (effective hiding) of the dynamical symmetries. All this is full agreement with all existing experimental data and represents the definitive solution of the old problem of micro theoretical foundation of measurement or old problem of the foundation of quantum mechanics as a local (luminal) physical theory.
Quantum measurements of physical quantities are often described as ideal measurements. However, only a few measurements fulfil the conditions of ideal measurements. The aim of the present work is to describe real position measurements with detectors that are able to detect single particles. For this purpose, a detector model is developed that can describe the time dependence of the interaction between a non-relativistic particle and a detector. The example of a position measurement shows that this interaction can be described with the methods of quantum mechanics. At the beginning of a position measurement, the detector behaves as a target consisting of a large number of quantum mechanical systems. In the first reaction, the incident particle interacts with a single atom, electron or nucleus, but not with the whole detector. This reaction and all following reactions are quantum mechanical processes. At the end of the measurement, the detector can be considered as a classical apparatus. A detector is neither a quantum mechanical system nor a classical apparatus. The detector model explains why one obtains a well-defined result for each individual position measurement. It further explains that, in general, it is impossible to predict the outcome of an individual measurement.
In this work spontaneous (non-dynamical) breaking (effective hiding) of the unitary quantum mechanical dynamical symmetry (superposition) is considered. It represents an especial but very interesting case of the general formalism of the spontaneous symmetry breaking (effective hiding). Conceptual analogies with spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry in Weinberg-Sallam's electro-weak interaction are pointed out. Also, consequences of the spontaneous superposition breaking in the measurement process are discussed. Measurement can be considered as a typical Landau's continuous phase transition with spontaneous superposition breaking (effective hiding) effectively corresponding to collapse. Here critical values of the order parameters are determined by Heisenberg's uncertainty relations.
The Compton effect is conventionally represented as a collision between a photon and an electron, with the observed wavelength shift determined by energy--momentum conservation and scattering geometry. This article revisits the event from a complementary perspective. Beginning from the experimental relation itself and from the wave side of wave--particle duality, we explore the Compton encounter as a finite dynamical process involving geometry, response, coupling, reorganization, and characteristic times. Two heuristic encounters guide the analysis. A stone striking a responsive surface foregrounds deformation, resistance, and relaxation, while a gravitational assist foregrounds trajectory and path-dependent exchange. These perspectives are then returned to a vortical reading of the electron and electromagnetic radiation. We distinguish an interaction time τint\tau_{\rm int}τint​ from a relaxation time τrelax\tau_{\rm relax}τrelax​, introduce the provisional ratio Rτ=τint/τrelax\mathcal R_{\tau}=\tau_{\rm int}/\tau_{\rm relax}Rτ​=τint​/τrelax​, and organize geometry, energetic cost, and coupling into a dynamical grammar of the encounter. The comparison is then extended to the photoelectric effect. Placing the naked experimental features of both phenomena side by side reveals a common radiation--matter interaction structure together with different accessible outcomes. This motivates the speculative possibility that Compton scattering and photoelectric emission occupy neighbouring regimes within a broader landscape of radiation--matter encounters. A provisional quantity, RavailR_{\rm avail}Ravail​, is introduced as a possible measure of the capacity of an electronic structure and its local environment to accommodate and redistribute an incoming perturbation within a given regime. The article therefore proposes an enlargement of the Compton problem: from reproducing the observed scattering relation to investigating the physical dynamics that may connect distinct radiation--matter outcomes.
The reduction of a particle's wave function in the process of radiation or light scattering is a longstanding problem.Its solution will give a clue on processes that form, for example, wave functions of electrons constantly emitting synchrotron radiation quanta in storage rings.On a more global scale, it may shed light on wave function collapse due to the process of measurement.In this paper we consider various experimental options using Fermilab electron beams and a possible electron beam from the SNS linac and lasers to detect electron wave function change due to Compton scattering.
Although it is 70 years old, there are still areas of quantum theory which are open to interpretation. This book deals with such interpretational problems, and in particular with the issue of the measurement process. The main theme is whether quantum mechanics can be viewed as a (semantically) complete theory, namely as a theory capable of describing not only the physical object under observation but also the measuring instruments used to detect the properties of that physical object. The problematic aspects arise from the fact that the measuring instruments themselves behave as classical physical systems. Thus, we are faced with the open problem of the transition from the quantum to the classical, or more explicitly, the problem of why the composition of many quantum micro-objects gives rise to classical macro-objects. This book goes carefully, exhaustively, and deeply into the interpretational problems of quantum mechanics induced by the measurement process. The solution of many relevant issues, as well as the problems that remain unsolved, emerge clearly. The discussion itself is self-contained and the technical parts are reader-friendly. This book is of value to graduate students and researchers who have an interest in the physical, mathematical, and philosophical foundations of quantum mechanics.