Compton Scattering I

1 Introduction

Compton scattering is the process whereby photons gain or

lose energy from collisions with electrons. It is an important
source of radiation at high energies, particularly at X-ray to
γ -ray energies.
In this chapter, we consider the total energy radiated by rela-
tivistic electrons as a result of scattering of soft photons.

High Energy Astrophysics © Geoffrey V. Bicknell

2 Scattering from electrons at rest

2.1 Classical approach (Thomson scattering)

s When a flux of electro-
o n
o t magnetic radiation im-
ph pinges on an electron,
e d
r
t te the electron oscillates
c a
Incident photons S and radiates electro-
magnetic radiation
Θ
(photons) in all direc-
tions.
Oscillating electron

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 2/59

We concentrate on the number flux of photons. Let
d N inc Incident no of photons per unit time
-------------- =
dtdA per unit area
d N scat No of photons per unit time per steradian
---------------- =
dtdΩ scattered by the electron
The differential number of scattered photons is defined in
terms of the cross-section by:
d N scat d N inc dσ T
---------------- = -------------- ----------
dtdΩ dtdA dΩ

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 3/59

The differential cross section for Thomson scattering is:
dσ T 1 2
---------- = --- r 0 ( 1 + cos2 Θ )
dΩ 2
r 0 = Classical electron radius

e2 – 15
= ------------------------- = 2.818 ×10 m
4πε 0 m e c 2

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 4/59

The classical electron radius, r 0 , is the “radius” derived by
treating the electron as a classical particle and assuming that
the its rest-mass is equal to its electrostatic potential, i.e.
e2
------------------ = m e c 2
4πε 0 r 0
Units
Note the units for the equation describing Thomson scattering
Number per unit time Number per unit time Area per unit
= ×
per unit solid angle per unit area solid angle

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 5/59

The total cross-section for scattering into all solid angles is
given by
d N scat d N inc
---------------- = σ T --------------
dt dtdA
dσ T 2πr 02 π 8π 2
σT = ∫ ---------- dΩ = ------------ ∫ ( 1 + cos Θ ) dΘ = ------ r 0
2
dΩ 2 0 3
4π
– 29
= 6.65 ×10 m2

The quantity σ T is the Thomson cross-section.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 6/59

2.2 Quantum-mechanical particle approach
ε 1 = hν 1 The above can
be derived by
approximating
photons classi-
ε = hν Θ cally as an elec-
tromagnetic
wave. It is also
Electron E
useful to treat
the scattering from a particle point of view. To do so, we con-
sider the collision between a photon and an electron in the rest
frame of the electron, as described in the figure.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 7/59

The parameters describing the collision are:
ε = hν = Initial photon energy
ε 1 = hν 1 = Final photon energy

m e c 2 = Initial electron energy

E = Final electron energy
Θ = Angle of deflection of photon

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 8/59

Treatment of collision using 4-vectors
The conservation of momentum and energy gives the final
photon energy in terms of the initial energy. This can be de-
rived in the following way.
In relativity, the conservation of energy and momentum be-
comes the conservation of four momentum. As we described
in the chapter on relativistic effects, the 4–momentum of a
particle with energy E = γmc 2 moving in the direction of
the unit vector n is described by:

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 9/59

 E Ev
P = γmc γmv = --- --- --
c cc
E
= --- [ 1, βn ]
c
n = Unit vector in the direction of motion
Limiting case of photon
In the limit where the mass goes to zero and β → 1 but the en-
ergy ε remains finite, we have a photon with 4–momentum
ε
P = -- [ 1, n ]
c

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 10/59

Let
ε
P γi = Initial 4-momentum of the photon = -- 1 n γi
c
ε1
P γf = Final 4 momentum of the photon = ----- 1 n γf
c

P ei = Initial 4-momentum of the electron = m e c 0

E
P ef = Final 4-momentum of the electron = --- 1 n ef
c
Conservation of 4-momentum, tells us that
P γi + P ei = P γf + P ef

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 11/59

We can rearrange this equation in such a way that the electron
momentum drops out. First put
P ef = P γi + P ei – P γf
then take the 4-dimensional modulus of this equation.
Remember that
1. The modulus of a vector A µ is given by

A 2 = η µν A µ A ν = – ( A 0 ) 2 + ( A 1 ) 2 + ( A 2 ) 2 + ( A 3 ) 2
2. The scalar product of A and B is
A ⋅ B = η µν A µ B ν = – A 0 B 0 + A 1 B 1 + A 2 B 2 + A 3 B 3

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 12/59

3. The magnitude of the 4-momentum of a particle is given
by:
P 2 = –m 2 c 2
4. Magnitude of 4-momentum of a photon is:
P2 = 0

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 13/59

Now take the modulus of the equation for P ef :

P ef 2 = P γi + P ei – P γf 2

⇒ – m e2 c 2 = P γi 2 + P ei 2 + P γf 2
+ 2 P γi ⋅ P ei – 2P γi ⋅ P γf – 2 ( P ei ⋅ P γf )

ε
– m e c = 0 – m e c + 0 + 2 – -- m e c
2 2 2 2 
 c 

 εε 1 εε 1  ε1
– 2  – -------- + -------- n ⋅ n f  – 2  – m e c -----
 c2 c2 i   c

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 14/59

This simplifies to:

 εε 1 εε 1 
εm e –  -------- – -------- cos Θ – m e ε 1 = 0
 c2 c2 

ε 1 [ m e c 2 + ε ( 1 – cos Θ ) ] = ε
ε
ε 1 = -------------------------------------------------------
 ε 
1 +  ------------ ( 1 – cos Θ )
 m e c 2

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 15/59

One can see immediately from this equation that:
ε « me c 2 ⇒ ε1 ≈ ε

2.3 Energy and wavelength change

The wavelength of a photon is given by:
hc hc
ε = ------ ⇒ λ = ------
λ ε
The above equation for the energy can be expressed as:

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 16/59

λ 1 – λ = λ c ( 1 – cos θ )
h
λ c = --------- = Compton wavelength of electron ≈ 0.0246 A
me c
The wavelength change after scattering is of order the Comp-
ton wavelength. For long wavelengths, λ » λ c , the change in
wavelength is small compared to the initial wavelength.
Equivalently, when ε « m e c 2 energy is conserved ( ε 1 = ε ) to
a good approximation.
The above treatment follows very closely the treatment given
in the text book Special Relativity by W. Rindler.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 17/59

2.4 The Klein-Nishina cross-section
When ε ∼ m e c 2 as well as the relativistic effects implied by
conservation of energy and momentum, quantum mechanical
effects also change the electron cross-section from the classi-
cal value. The differential cross-section is given by the Klein-
Nishina formula:
dσ KN r 02 ε 12  ε 1 ε 
--------------- = ----- -----  ----- + ----- – sin2 Θ
dΩ 2 ε 2  ε ε1 

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 18/59

As
ε → ε1

dσ KN r 02 1 dσ T
--------------- → ----- ( 2 – sin2 Θ ) = --- r 02 ( 1 + cos2 Θ ) = ----------
dΩ 2 2 dΩ

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 19/59

Integrating the above expression over solid angle gives the
following expression for the total Klein-Nishina cross-sec-
tion:

3 1 + x  2x ( 1 + x ) 
σ KN = --- ------------  ----------------------- – ln ( 1 + 2x ) 
4 x 3  1 + 2x 
1 ( 1 + 3x )
+ ------ ln ( 1 + 2x ) – -----------------------
2x ( 1 + 2x ) 2
hν
x = ------------
me c 2

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 20/59

Limits
Nonrelativistic regime ( x « 1 ) :
2
σ = σ T  1 – 2x + ------------
26x
 5 
Extreme relativistic regime ( x » 1 ) :
3
σ = --- σ T x – 1  1
ln 2x + ---
8  2
→ 0 as x → ∞
That is, electrons are less efficient scatterers of high energy
photons.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 21/59

3 Scattering from electrons in motion

The above applies to an electron at rest. For most applica-

tions, the electrons are moving, sometimes with relativistic
velocities so that we need to consider the details of electron
scattering in this case. We do so by extending the results for
scattering by a stationary electron to moving electrons using
a change of frame defined by the Lorentz transformation.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 22/59

3.1 Rest frame and electron frame
Here we use a device that it used a lot in High Energy Astro-
physics, we determine the energy transfer in an arbitrary
frame by Lorentz transforming to and from a frame in which
the electron is at rest. In this application “something” is the
electron.
Assume that in the rest frame ( S′ )
hν′ « m e c 2
so that the energy change in the rest frame can be neglected.
The photon-electron collision in the two frames is as depicted
in the following diagram:

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 23/59

Notation:
(lab frame) S′ (rest frame)
ε1 ′
ε 1 = hν 1
θ θ1 θ′ θ1 ′

ε = hν ε′
Electron scattering in laboratory
frame and rest frame of electron

Note that all angles are measured clockwise from the

positive -axis defined by the electron velocity.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 24/59

 ε = Initial photon energy in lab frame
Angle between initial photon direction
θ =
and electron velocity in lab frame
ε′ = Initial photon energy in electron frame
Angle between initial photon direction
θ′ =
and electron velocity in rest frame
ε 1 = Scattered photon energy in lab frame
θ 1 = Scattered photon angle in lab frame
ε 1 ′ = Scattered photon energy in rest frame
θ 1 ′ = Scattered photon angle in rest frame
High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 25/59
3.2 Transformation between frames
The frame S′ is the frame in which the electron is at rest. The
various angles refer to the angle between the direction of the
photon (pre- or post-collision) and the x -axis. In the lab frame
S the electron has velocity v and Lorentz factor
2 –1 / 2
γ =  1 – -----
v
= ( 1 – β 2 ) –1 / 2
 c 2
v
β = --
c

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 26/59

Recall the transformation between energies between two rel-
atively moving frames. For massive particles:
vp
E′ = γE  1 – β ------ cos θ
 c 
where E is the energy of the particle and v p is its velocity.

For photons (where we denote energy by ε ):

ε′ = γε ( 1 – β cos θ ) = γε ( 1 – βµ )
where µ = cos θ
The Lorentz factor γ = ( 1 – β 2 ) – 1 / 2 .

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 27/59

The reverse and forward transformations are:
ε′ = γε ( 1 – β cos θ ) = γε ( 1 – βµ )
ε 1 = γ ε 1 ′ ( 1 + β cos θ 1 ) = γ ε 1 ′ ( 1 + βµ 1 )
Hence, except for values of θ near 0 ( µ ≈ 1 ), the photon picks
up a factor of γ when we transform to the rest frame and ex-
cept for values of θ 1 near π ( µ 1 ≈ – 1 ), we pick up a further
factor of γ when we transform the energy of the scattered
photon back to the lab frame.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 28/59

Energy gain from Thomson scattering
Assuming that Thomson scattering applies in the rest frame,
(i.e. ε 1 ′ = ε′ ) then the ratios of energies in going from lab
frame to rest frame and then back to lab frame are of order
1:γ :γ 2
Hence, in being scattered by an electron, a photon increases
in energy by a factor of order γ 2 . Obviously for relativistic
electrons, this can be substantial.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 29/59

Condition for Thomson scattering in the rest frame
Since, the energy of the photon in the rest frame is of order
γε , then the condition for Thomson scattering to apply in the
rest frame is:
γε « m e c 2 ⇒ γhν « m e c 2

me c 2
hν « ------------
γ

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 30/59

Example
Consider scattering of radio emitting photons by electrons
with a Lorentz factor of order 10 4 . First, assuming that the
Thomson limit applies in the rest frame, the typical photon
frequency produced is
γ 2 ν ∼ 10 8 × 10 9 Hz ∼ 10 17 Hz
i.e. X-ray frequencies.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 31/59

Is the condition for the Thomson limit satisfied? We require
the initial soft photon energy to satisfy:
me c 2 9.11 ×10
– 31
× ( 3 ×10 )
8 2
ν « ------------ = --------------------------------------------------------- = 10 16
hγ – 34
6.6 ×10 × 10 4
and this is easily satisfied for radio photons.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 32/59

4 Emitted power resulting from inverse Compton
scattering

The scattering of photons by energetic electrons, frequently

results in a transfer of energy from the electrons to the pho-
tons. When this is the case, the process is known as inverse
Compton scattering.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 33/59

4.1 Single electron power
Isotropic distribution of photons
Photons impinging on a population of electrons have a distri-
bution of directions. For simplicity and with physical appli-
cations in mind, we consider a distribution of photons which
is isotropic in the lab frame. Let
f ( p )d 3 p = No density of photons within range d 3 p
n ( ε )dε = No density of photons within dε

In the lab frame, where the photons are assumed isotropic:

4π p 2 f ( p )dp = n ( ε )dε
High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 34/59
The calculation of the single electron power follows the fol-
lowing scheme.

Isotropic distribu- Anisotropic distribu-

tion of photons in tion of photons in
lab frame rest frame of electron

Compute power in rest

Transform back to lab frame, using conserva-
frame and calculate tion of energy in rest
power in that frame frame
High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 35/59
 We consider the geometry at
Electron rest frame the left. Consider photons in-
S′′ ε1 ′ cident at an angle θ′ to the x -
axis which are scattered into a
θ′ θ1 ′ range of angles indicated by
θ 1 ′ . Consider the incident
flux on the electron due to
ε′
photons within a region d 3 p′
of momentum space, where
d 3 p′ = p′ 2 dp′ sin θ′dφ′

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 36/59

The number density of photons in this region of momentum
space is:
δn = f ( p′ )d 3 p′
Therefore:
Incident photon flux per unit area
= δn × c = cf ( p′ )d 3 p′
per unit time

No of photons scattered per unit time = σ T × cf ( p′ )d 3 p′

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 37/59

In the rest frame the energy of the scattered photons remains
the same. Hence, the energy per unit time, i.e. the power, of
the scattered radiation contributed by a single electron, is:
δP′ = σ T × ε′ × cf′ ( p′ )d 3 p′
Integrating over all momenta in the rest frame:
P′ = cσ T ∫ ε′f′ ( p′ )d 3 p′
Transformation back to lab frame
We know that the distribution function is invariant under
Lorentz transformations:
f′ ( p′ ) = f ( p )

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 38/59

We also need to determine the transformation law for ε and
d 3 p as a result of the Lorentz transformations between S and
S′ . Determining the transformation of d 3 p involves deter-
mining the Jacobean of the transformation from S′ to S .Using
the transformations for photons derived from the 4-momen-
tum, we have for the spatial momentum components:

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 39/59

  ε 
p x ′ = γ p x – -- β = γ ( p x – pβ )
 c 
py′ = py pz ′ = pz
∂px′ ∂ px
----------- = γ  1 – --------- β = γ  1 – ------ β
p
∂px  ∂px   p 
= γ ( 1 – β cos θ ) = γ ( 1 – βµ )
∂px′ py ∂px′ pz
----------- = – γβ ------ ----------- = – γβ -----
∂py p ∂ pz p
∂py′ ∂ pz ′
----------- = ---------- = 1
∂py ∂ pz
High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 40/59
For the energy
px
ε′ = γ ( ε – βc p x ) = γε  1 – β ------
 p
= γε ( 1 – β cos θ ) = γε ( 1 – βµ )
Jacobean of the transformation between lab mo-
mentum space and rest frame momentum space

py pz
γ ( 1 – βµ ) – γβ ------ – γβ -----
J = p p = γ ( 1 – βµ )
0 1 0
0 0 1

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 41/59

Hence,
d 3 p′ = γ ( 1 – β cos θ )d 3 p

ε′f ( p′ )d 3 p′ = γ 2 ( 1 – β cos θ ) 2 εf ( p )d 3 p
The power radiated in the rest frame is:
P′ = cσ T ∫ εf ( p′ )d 3 p′ = cσ T ∫ γ 2 ( 1 – β cos θ ) 2 εf ( p ) p 2 d p dΩ

cσ T γ 2
= ---------------- ∫ ( 1 – β cos θ ) 2 εn ( ε ) dε sin θ dθ dφ
4π

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 42/59

The integral is over variables in the lab frame where the pho-
ton distribution is isotropic.
We obtain for the power:
β 2 ∞
P′ = cσ T γ 2  1 + ------ ∫ εn ( ε ) dε
 3 0
The quantity
∞
U ph = ∫ εn ( ε ) dε
0
is the photon energy density in the lab frame.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 43/59

Emitted power in the lab frame
How does the power emitted in the rest frame relate to the
power emitted in the lab frame? We can write these powers as
dE 1 ′ dE 1
P′ = ------------ P = ----------
dt′ dt
where dE 1 and dE 1 ′ are the energies in bundles of radiation
emitted in time intervals dt and dt′ respectively.
From the Lorentz transformation between the electron rest
frame and the lab frame:

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 44/59

  βdx′
dt = γ dt′ + ----------- = γdt′
 c 
since in the rest frame of the electron, dx′ = 0 .
Consider a bunch of photons emitted with energy dE 1 ′ and
x -momentum dp x ′ = ( dE 1 ′ ⁄ c ) cos θ 1 at the angle θ 1 ′ . The
Lorentz transformed energy of this bunch of photons in the
lab frame is
dE 1 = γ ( dE 1 ′ + βcd p x ′ ) = γ ( dE 1 ′ ) ( 1 + β cos θ 1 ′ )

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 45/59

However, scatterings with cos θ 1 ′ > 0 and cos θ 1 ′ < 0 are
equally likely, because of the symmetry of the Thomson
cross-section, so that the averaged contribution to dE 1 is

〈 dE 1〉 = γdE 1 ′
Hence the power in the lab frame is:
〈 dE 1〉 γdE 1 ′ dE 1 ′
--------------- = -------------- = ------------
dt γdt′ dt′
That is,
P = P′

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 46/59

Hence the scattered power in the lab frame is
β 2
P = cσ T γ 2  1 + ------ U ph
 3

4.2 Number of scatterings per unit time

In the electron rest frame:
dN′
--------- = Number of scatterings per unit time
dt′
= cσ T ∫ f ( p′ )d 3 p′

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 47/59

Again we transform this equation to the lab frame:
dN′
--------- = cσ T ∫ γ ( 1 – β cos θ ) f ( p ) p 2 d p sin θ dθ dφ
dt′
2πγcσ T
= -------------------- ∫ ( 1 – β cos θ )n ( ε ) dε sin θ dθ
4π
= γcσ T N ph
where the photon number density is
N ph = ∫ n ( ε ) dε

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 48/59

In transforming dN′ ⁄ dt′ to the lab frame, we note that dN′ is
a number and so is Lorentz invariant, so that
dN dN′
------- = γ --------- = cσ T N ph
– 1
dt dt′

4.3 Nett energy radiated

We write the above equation as
dN
------- = cσ T N ph = cσ T ∫ n ( ε ) dε
dt

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 49/59

Hence, the number of scatterings per unit time per unit pho-
ton energy by a single electron is cσ T n ( ε ) . Hence the energy
removed from photons within dε is cσ T εn ( ε )dε . Hence, the
energy removed from the photon field is given by:
dE 1
---------- = – cσ T ∫ εn ( ε ) dε = – cσ T U ph
dt

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 50/59

Therefore, the nett energy radiated is:
dE rad
 1 2
-------------- = P compt = cσ T U ph γ 1 + --- β – 1
2
dt  3 
4
= --- σ T cγ 2 β 2 U ph
3
where we have used
γ 2β2 = γ 2 – 1

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 51/59

4.4 Comparison of synchrotron and inverse Comp-
ton power
We already know that the synchrotron power of an electron
is given by
4
P synch = --- σ T cγ 2 β 2 U B
3
B2
U B = ---------
2µ 0
Hence,
P compton U ph
---------------------- = ----------
P synch UB
High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 52/59
From this expression, we can see that the inverse Compton
power can be comparable to the synchrotron power, when the
photon energy density is comparable to the magnetic energy
density. This is often the case at the bases of jets, so that these
regions are often strong X-ray emitters.

5 Inverse Compton emission from the microwave

background

A regime in which inverse Compton emission is important is

in the extended regions of radio galaxies, where the energy
density of the microwave background radiation may be com-
parable to the magnetic energy density.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 53/59

Consider the energy density of blackbody radiation:
8π 5k4 – 16
ε BB = aT 4 a = ------------------ = 7.57 ×10 J m – 3 K – 4
15h 3 c 3
This is equal to the energy density of a magnetic field when
B2 – 11 2
--------- = aT 4 ⇒ B = 2µ 0 aT = 4.4 ×10 T
2
2µ 0
For the microwave background, T = 2.7 K .
Therefore, when
– 10
B < B crit = 3.2 ×10 T = 3.2µG

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 54/59

the radiation from inverse Compton emission is more impor-
tant than synchrotron radiation as an energy loss mechanism
for the electrons.

6 Inverse Compton emission from a thermal

plasma

The above expressions are derived without any restriction on

the energies of the electrons. If we consider a thermal distri-
bution, then,
〈 v 2〉 3kT
γ2 ≈ 1 〈 β 〉 = ----------- = ----------
2
c2 mc 2

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 55/59

Hence, the total Compton emission from a single electron is
given by:
 4kT 
P Compton = ---------- cσ T U ph
 mc 2
The volume emissivity from the plasma with electron number
density n e is:

 4kT 
j Compton = ---------- cσ T n e U ph
 mc 2

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 56/59

Compton scattering of “soft” photons by hot thermal elec-
trons in the coronae of accretion disks is thought to be respon-
sible for the X-ray emission from AGN and for the X-ray
emissivity of galactic black hole candidates.

7 Mean energy of scattered photons

By dividing the radiated power by the number of scattered

photons per unit time, we can calculate the mean energy per
scattered photon.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 57/59

 4
--- σ T cγ 2 β 2 U ph
3
〈 ε 1〉 = -------------------------------------
cσ T N ph

4 2 2 U ph 4 2 2
= --- γ β ---------- = --- γ β 〈 ε〉
3 N ph 3

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 58/59

Inverse Compton emission from relativistic elec-
trons
Thus for photons scattering off relativistic electrons, the
mean amplification of energy per scattering is 4γ 2 ⁄ 3 , sup-
porting the order of magnitude estimate of γ 2 for this param-
eter.

Clearly, for relativistic electrons, the energy gain is substan-

tial, underlining the importance of inverse Compton emission
as an astrophysical process.

High Energy Astrophysics: Compton Scattering I 59/59