Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-ii-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2013/paper-1/3/a/solution

For elastic scattering by a real short-range scalar potential, write , and . In the far field, and . The outgoing spherical-wave coefficient is
Substitution of the incident plane wave inside this integral gives
The incoming and outgoing flux factors cancel because their speeds agree. Here is a wavevector transfer; the actual momentum transfer is . This distinction preserves dimensions. The approximation requires the scattered correction to the interior wave to be small, and does not in general apply to an unscreened long-range potential.

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