Compton Scattering Total Cross Section at Next-to-Leading Order
Roman N. Lee, Matthew D. Schwartz, Xiaoyuan Zhang
Abstract
An analytic formula is given for the total scattering cross section of an electron and a photon at order α^{3} in QED. This includes both the double-Compton scattering real-emission contribution as well as the virtual Compton scattering part. When combined with the recent analytic result for the pair-production cross section, the complete α^{3} cross section is now known. Both the next-to-leading order calculation as well as the pair-production cross section are computed using modern multiloop calculation techniques, where cut diagrams are decomposed into a set of master integrals that are then computed using differential equations.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsCompton scatteringCross section (physics)ScatteringScattering cross-sectionPair productionScattering lengthSection (typography)PhotonNuclear cross sectionOrder (exchange)ElectronCompton wavelengthNuclear physicsElastic scatteringQuantum mechanicsComputer scienceEconomicsFinanceOperating systemQuantum Chromodynamics and Particle InteractionsParticle physics theoretical and experimental studiesHigh-Energy Particle Collisions Research