PHOTO-ELECTRIC EFFECT

63

measuring the charge distribution of the atomic electrons. Clearly, a here. This is truly probing the structure of the target! The condition (qa)2 = 8mEa2 sin2 /2 1 for hard scattering can be evaluated as follows. We set a equal to the Bohr radius a0 = 1/(Z m) and introduce the ionization potential Eion = m(Z )2 /2 to get (qa)2 = 8m 1 E E m Eion a2 (Z )2 0 = 8m Eion Eion 2 Z m
2

=4

E Eion

(2.54) 1.

Requiring (qa)2 1 implies a substantial scattering angle and E/Eion The cross section becomes d = d Ze2 4E
2

1 sin4
2

(2.55)

This is the Rutherford scattering formula, famous for its use in the analysis of the scattering of particles of atoms, resolving and thus discovering the atomic nucleus. We have used Equation (2.5) to relate the cross section to the scattering amplitude, and Equation (2.48) for the scattering amplitude 1 hard scattering domain. with F(q) = 0 as we are in the (qa)2

2.3 PHOTO-ELECTRIC EFFECT

The photo-electric effect played a decisive role in the early development of Quantum Physics. Its striking (at the time) characteristics do not have to be discussed here because they are covered in great detail in the early part of any Quantum Physics course. We consider the process + A B + e (2.56)

where the photon has sufcient energy to ionize the atom. We will model this process as an incident photon ionizing the atom A by ejecting an electron, leaving behind B, the singly ionized version of atom A. We will be more precise later. Fermis Golden Rule reads, see Equation (1.103) dw = 2 B; p V (x) A; k, (k)
2

(EB + Ee EA )

(2.57)

In this expression p is the momentum of the outgoing electron, Ee = p2 /(2m) its energy, and k and the momentum and polarization of the incident photon. The sign in the -function is the same that is found in the exponent of the harmonic perturbation H1 (t) = V (x)exp(it) and will be resolved shortly. As always, the bra and ket are each products of the appropriate bra and ket of the individual atom, photon and electron. The