UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Department of Physics
Quantum Mechanics 401 (PHYSM0100) (2009/2010)
Quantum Mechanical Scattering II: the Born Approximation
The Born Approximation: Introduction
We will now discuss a method of calculating scattering by a potential V (r) which although
only approximate, gives us the scattering amplitude f() in one operation, and may be
reasonably accurate for weak scattering.
First we remind ourselves of the use of Greens Functions in solving dierential equa-
tions, by looking at the simple electrostatic case, where a point charge a the point r gives
rise to a potential
(r) =
1
4
0
|r r
0
|
We may regard this as a solution to Poissons Equation

2
=
1

0
(r)
for the case where the charge distribution (r) is just a Dirac delta-function at the point
r
0
For a general charge distribution (r) the potential is given by integrating:
(r) =
1
4
0

(r

)
|r r

|
d
3
r

A similar method can be applied to the Wave Equation:

1
v
2

t
2
= F(r)e
it
where the right-hand side is a source distribution of some kind. Like other dierential
equations this may have transient solutions when we start from time zero, but the steady
state solution, which is driven by the r.h.s. has the same time dependence as it has ( i.e.
e
it
). Consequently we look for solutions of the type
(r) = (r)e
it
Substituting we get the Helmholtz Equation (with sources)
(
2
+k
2
) = F(r)
In exactly the same way as for Poissons Equation, we can write the solution for an
oscillating point source:
F(r) = (r r

)
obtaining
(r) =
e
ik|rr

|
4|r r

|
1
Physically this represents both in- and out- going spherical waves centred at r

. For our
purposes we need only the outgoing wave ( positive exponent ). For an arbitrary source
distribution the solution is
(r) =
1
4

e
ik|rr

|
|r r

|
F(r

)d
3
r

The complete solution of the original equation is the sum of this with an arbitrary solution
of the homogeneous equation (
2
+k
2
) = 0 such as the plane wave:
(r) = e
ikz

1
4

e
ik|rr

|
|r r

|
F(r

)d
3
r

We now need to apply this to the Schrodinger Equation by writing the latter in the
form
(
2
+ k
2
) =
2m
h
2
V (r)
This is clearly similar to the general wave equation, except that the role of the source
F(r) is played by the product on the right-hand side, which already contains the wave-
function. This is clearly a complication, but from a formal point of view it does not
prevent us from writing down a solution to Schrodingers Equation analogous to those of
the wave equation discussed earlier:
(r) = e
ikz

m
2 h
2

e
ik|rr

|
|r r

|
V (r

)(r

)d
3
r

We have chosen the rst term to make this resemble the expression for the ideal scatter-
ing situation discussed earlier. We can make the resemblance even closer by taking into
account the fact that in realistic experiments the potential is non-zero over a very small
region, and any measurements of angular distributions we may make are far outside the
region where the potential is signicant. This means that we rewrite the factors involving
|r r

| in a way that makes use of the geometry of the situation.

r - r k.r
r
r
Fig 3: Born Approximation: a geometrical simplification
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If we assume the potential is non-zero only in a small region near the origin, we see
from the diagram that it is reasonable to use the approximation:
|r r

| r
k

.r

k
where k

is a vector of the same size as k but in the same direction as r This is essentially
the same approximation as is made in discussions of Fraunhofer diraction.
Now the second term here is the projection of r

in the direction of r which is certainly

not larger than r

. Since r

is itself small compared with r, we can therefore ignore the

second term in comparison to the rst term in nding the denominator of the integral:
1
|r r

|

1
r
However the harmonic factor in the integral can change signicantly over the distance r

if
the wavelength is small enough, so in this case we need to keep both terms. Nevertheless
the rst can be taken outside the integration so we get:
(r) = e
ikz

me
ikr
2 h
2
r

e
ik

.r

V (r

)(r

)d
3
r

There are few, if any, potentials for which we can solve this equation exactly, but
a useful approximation may be obtained in the following way. If we assume that the
scattering is relatively weak, it is reasonable to hope that we can use the original plane
wave in place of the correct wave function inside the integral. The potential is pictured
as producing a minor perturbation of the wave-function, which can hopefully be ignored
in arriving at a rst approximation to the integral. If we insert (r

) = e
ikz

= ce
ik.r

in
the integral, we get
(r) = e
ikz

me
ikr
2 h
2
r

e
i(k

k).r

V (r

)d
3
r

Now we have something precisely similar to the model scattering situation with the scat-
tering amplitude given by an integral expression:
f() =
m
2 h
2

e
i(k

k).r

V (r

)d
3
r

This means that in this approximation the scattering amplitude is simply the Fourier
Transform of the potential. This reminds us of the situation in Fraunhofer diaction,
where the diraction pattern is simply related to the Fourier Transform of the diracting
aperture. The quantity k

k is known as the momentum transferQ. Remembering

that k and k

are of equal magnitude, we see from the following diagram:

3
k
k
Q
Fig 4: Born Approximation: momentum transfer
/2
/2
that
Q = 2ksin/2
Almost invariably in practice we nd ourselves dealing with potentials which are spheri-
cally symmetric. This allows yet further simplication. Dropping the primes for conve-
nience,
f() =
m
2 h
2

e
iQ.r
V (r)d
3
r
In doing this volume integral we can choose any convenient set of coordinates. It makes
things simple if we choose a set of spherical polar coordinates (r,

) with the z-axis

along the direction of Q. In this case the volume element is r
2
sin

drd

, we can write
Q.r as Qrcos

and there is no dependence on . With these simplications we can write

f() =
m
h
2

r
2
sin

e
iQrcos

V (r)drd

The angular integration is independent of the potential, and gives

f() =
m
h
2

r
2

e
iQrcos

iQr

0
V (r)dr =
2m
h
2
Q

0
rsin(Qr)V (r)dr
This is the nal and simplest form of the very important Born Approximation for the
scattering amplitude. We will discuss an example of its use in the Problems Class.
Low Energy Scattering
Using this result we can show an important general feature of scattering in quantum
mechanics, namely that when the scattering potential is limited to a small region compared
with the de Broglie wavelength, the scattering is independent of angle (i.e. isotropic).
This follows because, unless the scattering angle is very small, the argument of the sine
function, Qr, will be small wherever V (r) is signicantly dierent from zero. Using the
small angle approximation that sin(Qr) = Qr we simply get
f() =
2m
h
2

0
r
2
V (r)dr
This will happen at low enough energy for any scattering potential, and shows why experi-
ments performed at such energies only give very limited information about the interaction.
4
To distinguish, say, a square well potential from a shielded Coulomb potential by scatter-
ing experiments requires beam particles energetic enough that their wavelength is similar
to, or smaller than, the spatial size of the potential.
Comments about the Born Approximation
The Born approximation is based on the use of the undisturbed wave-function in the
integral. This means that speaking loosely the potential can only act once on the pro-
jectile particles. The method really provides the rst term in a series expansion of the
scattering amplitude. Various schemes are available for improving the accuracy of the
approximation, but these are outside our course.
One limitation is apparent from the fact that the scattering amplitude for a spherically
symmetrical potential is essentially real. As we will discover in the more exact treatment
of scattering which we about to embark upon, this is actually unrealistic, and the forward
scattering amplitude always has an imaginary part related to the total cross section
(more of this later!).
R. Tapper November 15, 2009
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