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Lecture10 ScatteringLengthResonanceScatteringBeritWignerFormula2019

1) Resonance scattering occurs when a neutron beam hits a target nucleus, forming a compound nucleus at certain excitation energies corresponding to resonant states. 2) The Breit-Wigner formula describes the scattering and reaction cross-sections near a resonance, relating them to the scattering length and resonance parameters like energy and width. 3) At low energies, only s-wave scattering is important as higher partial waves cannot resolve the potential. The scattering length characterizes the s-wave scattering and depends on the potential parameters.

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406 views

Lecture10 ScatteringLengthResonanceScatteringBeritWignerFormula2019

1) Resonance scattering occurs when a neutron beam hits a target nucleus, forming a compound nucleus at certain excitation energies corresponding to resonant states. 2) The Breit-Wigner formula describes the scattering and reaction cross-sections near a resonance, relating them to the scattering length and resonance parameters like energy and width. 3) At low energies, only s-wave scattering is important as higher partial waves cannot resolve the potential. The scattering length characterizes the s-wave scattering and depends on the potential parameters.

Uploaded by

Sagar Rawal
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Scattering Length

s-wave scattering
Resonance Scattering
BREIT-WIGNER SINGLE LEVEL FORMULA
Discuss resonance in a nuclear reaction. Obtain Breit-Wigner
single level formulae for the scattering as well as reaction
cross-sections with real and complex scattering lengths at the
sharp resonance while neutron beam with s-wave hits the
target forming a compound nucleus.
Each peak is manifesting a particular compound state of nucleus.

These peaks are


238U
called resonances.
n

As neutron energy increases cross-


section is found to decrease.

When low energy neutron hits 238U nuclei…………


Physically, it's more like both the particles are interested to
absorb themselves into each other, to produce a heavier
particle, rather than just scattering off each other.

Continuum Theory

If the energy of the projectile (the sum of the Q value and


the kinetic energy of the projectile) and the energy of target
nucleus is equal to a compound nucleus at one of the
excitation states, a resonance can be created and peak occurs
in the cross section.
Resonances (particular compound states) are mostly created
in neutron nuclear reactions.
According to Faxen & Haltzmark formula, scattering
amplitude is given by,
1

Here dl represents phase change due to the presence of


potential in the region where scattering or nuclear reaction is
expected.
The scattering cross-section is,

Therefore, the total cross-section is,


3

For low energy incident beam (or s-wave, i.e., l = 0), the total
cross-section is,

Low E : Small d 4

Here, ‘a’ represents radius of the hard sphere called


scattering length! As ‘k’ increases ‘a’ increases.
5
Therefore, phase shift (d0) is related with the scattering length
(a) by,

We know that, as ‘k’ increases ‘a’ increases.


Therefore, we drop positive!

For small k, phase shift is small, therefore we can write,


7
The incident plane
wave is regarded as
divided into cylindrical
zones of radii ll = l, 2
l, 3l, …… The central
shaded portion
represents the
potential of range a.
Effect of the potential on the
phase of the scattered wave
for l = 0.
For attractive potential
(d 0>0), scattered wave is
pulled towards the origin and
for the repulsive potential or
barrier (d 0<0), it is pushed
out!
When a slow particle (de Broglie wavelength is very long)
scatters off a short ranged scatter (e.g. an impurity in a solid
or a heavy particle) it cannot resolve the structure of the
object!

The idea is that - it should not be important what precise


potential V(r) is responsible for the scattering, the important
is how the potential looks at long length scales.
At very low energy the incoming particle does not see any
structure, therefore to lowest order one has only a spherical
outgoing wave, called the s-wave in analogy with the atomic
orbital at l = 0.

At higher energies one also needs to consider p and d-wave (l


= 1, 2) scattering and so on.
Scattering length, ao

For small depth (V When first s level For larger depth (V


small), there is no appears, d0 is p/2 large), d0 < 0 and
s level in the well, and hence ao hence ao > 0. here
d0 is positive and becomes infinite. ka lie between p
ao<0. Prove these! and p/2.
In the case of inelastic scattering, we have,
8

Here,

At very low energies (i.e., 1/k is much scattering


larger than the range of the potential!),
the incoming particles do not see any structure absorption
since its de Broglie’s wavelength is very long!
This means partial waves of higher order (l > 0) has no
meaning! Therefore, s-wave (l = 0) is considered for low
energy scattering.
We know that, the complex amplitude is,

10

Substituting this in eq. (8), for s-wave, the scattering cross-


section is,
On solving, we get,
11

Similarly, the reaction cross-section is given by,

On solving, we get,

12
Thus, for real ‘a’, sr = 0. At the resonance, phase shift d0 = p/2
(you need to verify this (HW)). Here, 1/a(Eo) = 0, where Eo is
the energy at which resonance occur.
Expanding 1/a(E) about E0, we get,

We define,
So that,

13

Substituting this in equation (12),


So that,

On solving we get,
13

Where Gs is the width of the level from which


scattering takes place. Equation (13) is Breit-Wigner
formula.
In general,
The behavior of the cross-section between two resonances is usually
strongly affected by the effect of nearby resonances.

Uranium 235. Comparison of total fission cross-section and


cross-section for radiative capture.
It is obvious the compound states (resonances) are observed at low
excitation energies. This is due to the fact, the energy gap between the
states is large. At high excitation energy, the gap between two
compound states is very small and the widths of resonances may reach
the order of the distances between resonances. Therefore at high
energies no resonances
Gadolinium can Comparison
155 and 157. be observedofand the cross
radiative sectioncross-
capture in this
energy
sections. region
Both is continuous
nuclei and
have region of smooth.
resonances.
The variation of the partial cross-section with the incident energy has
the form of a classical resonance curve. The quantity Gs is the width of
the resonance (in energy). We can interpret the Breit-Wigner formula
as describing the absorption of an incident particle to form a
metastable state, of energy E0 and lifetime t.

Region of resonances of 238U and 240Pu nuclei.


QUESTIONS
Use partial wave method and show that outgoing scattered
wave have equal phases as incident wave in the square well
potential .

Show that the scattering length a0 is the value of r for which


rRoV vanishes.

Show that, for s-wave, the scattering length a0 will be infinite


when phase shift is exactly p/2.

Use partial wave method to find scattering cross section for s-


wave in the square well potential described by,
V(r) = -V, for r>a
0, for r<a.
NUMERICAL
The neutron capture reaction of 197Au at neutron energies up
to a few hundred eV is characterized by a number of
resonances. The most prominent is at 4.96 eV and has Gy =
0.124 eV and Gn = 0.007E1/2 eV. The compound nucleus
formed in this resonance absorption has spin 2. Calculate the
peak cross-section. [Ans: 3.446 x 104 barns]

Cadmium has a resonance for neutrons of energy 0.18


eV and the peak value of cross-section for the
compound nucleus formed by the collision of neutrons is
7000 barns. Estimate the contribution of scattering to the
resonance generalizing from the theory of compound
nucleus formation. [Ans: 3.37 barn]
Born Approximation for phase shift

Ramsauer-Townsend Effect
Scattering by spherical potential barrier

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