Cross section:

incident flux
(number of particles crossing unit transverse area per unit time)

differential cross section

event p = elastic scattering through a (constant of proportionality)
deflection angle between ! and ! + d!:

er
events scatt
gle
even to solid an
ts or
igin
ate f
rom th
differential cross section: is ar
ea
(per unit solid angle)

total cross section:

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Rutherford scattering:
(the scattering of a particles with charge ze and mass m from a
nucleus with charge Ze and mass M)
Newton’s second law: Coulomb’s force

the same as for Kepler problem,

hyperbolic gravitational orbits with the replacement:

Orbit solution:

for C<0 (repulsive potential):

is the right branch of hyperbola in polar

coordinates with the origin at the left focus.
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Hyperbola:
constant difference in distance from two foci
located at x=+f and x=-f:
left branch
r
"
right branch

eccentricity: asymptotes of the

two branches:
cos α = �−1
right branch in polar coordinates right branch in polar coordinates
with the origin at the right focus: with the origin at the left focus:

r (1 − � cos φ) = a(�2 − 1) r (� cos φ − 1) = a(�2 − 1)

follows from the law of cosines: follows from the law of cosines:
d�2 = d2 + 4f 2 − 4df cos(π − φ) d2 = d�2 + 4f 2 − 4d� f cos φ

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for positive C we found:

b is identical for both

signs of the potential
relation between b and
the scattering angle:

Rutherford formula:

even the total cross section is divergent for small scattering angles!
What does it mean?

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Scattering by a hard sphere:

differential cross section: total cross section:

isotropic cross section is a geometric area (circle)

alternatively:

Infinite for Rutherford-like scattering

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