Iii Scattering Theory

Volume 3.

Volume 3.

Much progress has been made in scattering theory since the publication of the first edition of this book fifteen years ago, and it is time to update it. Needless to say, it was impossible to incorporate all areas of new develop ment. Since among the newer books on scattering theory there are three excellent volumes that treat the subject from a much more abstract mathe matical point of view (Lax and Phillips on electromagnetic scattering, Amrein, Jauch and Sinha, and Reed and Simon on quantum scattering), I have refrained from adding material concerning the abundant new mathe matical results on time-dependent formulations of scattering theory. The only exception is Dollard's beautiful "scattering into cones" method that connects the physically intuitive and mathematically clean wave-packet description to experimentally accessible scattering rates in a much more satisfactory manner than the older procedure. Areas that have been substantially augmented are the analysis of the three-dimensional Schrodinger equation for non central potentials (in Chapter 10), the general approach to multiparticle reaction theory (in Chapter 16), the specific treatment of three-particle scattering (in Chapter 17), and inverse scattering (in Chapter 20). The additions to Chapter 16 include an introduction to the two-Hilbert space approach, as well as a derivation of general scattering-rate formulas. Chapter 17 now contains a survey of various approaches to the solution of three-particle problems, as well as a discussion of the Efimov effect.

Scattering theory is, roughly speaking, perturbation theory of self-adjoint operators on the (absolutely) continuous spectrum. It has its origin in mathematical problems of quantum mechanics and is intimately related to the theory of partial differential equations. Some recently solved problems, such as asymptotic completeness for the Schrödinger operator with long-range and multiparticle potentials, as well as open problems, are discussed. Potentials for which asymptotic completeness is violated are also constructed. This corresponds to a new class of asymptotic solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Special attention is paid to the properties of the scattering matrix, which is the main observable of the theory. The book is addressed to readers interested in a deeper study of the subject.

This monograph addresses researchers and students. It is a modern presentation of time-dependent methods for studying problems of scattering theory in the classical and quantum mechanics of N-particle systems. Particular attention is paid to long-range potentials. For a large class of interactions the existence of the asymptotic velocity and the asymptotic completeness of the wave operators is shown. The book is self-contained and explains in detail concepts that deepen the understanding. As a special feature of the book, the beautiful analogy between classical and quantum scattering theory (e.g., for N-body Hamiltonians) is presented with deep insight into the physical and mathematical problems.

The aim of this book is to give a systematic and self-contained presentation of the Mathematical Scattering Theory within the framework of operator theory in Hilbert space. The term Mathematical Scattering Theory denotes that theory which is on the one hand the common mathematical foundation of several physical scattering theories (scattering of quantum objects, of classical waves and particles) and on the other hand a branch of operator theory devoted to the study of the behavior of the continuous part of perturbed operators (some authors also use the term Abstract Scattering Theory). EBBential contributions to the development of this theory are due to K. FRIEDRICHS, J. CooK, T. KATo, J. M. JAuCH, S. T. KURODA, M.S. BmMAN, M.G. KREiN, L. D. FAD DEEV, R. LAVINE, W. 0. AMREIN, B. SIMoN, D. PEARSON, V. ENss, and others. It seems to the authors that the theory has now reached a sufficiently developed state that a self-contained presentation of the topic is justified.

The last decade witnessed an increasing interest of mathematicians in prob lems originated in mathematical physics. As a result of this effort, the scope of traditional mathematical physics changed considerably. New problems es pecially those connected with quantum physics make use of new ideas and methods. Together with classical and functional analysis, methods from dif ferential geometry and Lie algebras, the theory of group representation, and even topology and algebraic geometry became efficient tools of mathematical physics. On the other hand, the problems tackled in mathematical physics helped to formulate new, purely mathematical, theorems. This important development must obviously influence the contemporary mathematical literature, especially the review articles and monographs. A considerable number of books and articles appeared, reflecting to some extend this trend. In our view, however, an adequate language and appropriate methodology has not been developed yet. Nowadays, the current literature includes either mathematical monographs occasionally using physical terms, or books on theoretical physics focused on the mathematical apparatus. We hold the opinion that the traditional mathematical language of lem mas and theorems is not appropriate for the contemporary writing on mathe matical physics. In such literature, in contrast to the standard approaches of theoretical physics, the mathematical ideology must be utmost emphasized and the reference to physical ideas must be supported by appropriate mathe matical statements. Of special importance are the results and methods that have been developed in this way for the first time.

Lectures in Scattering Theory discusses problems in quantum mechanics and the principles of the non-relativistic theory of potential scattering. This book describes in detail the properties of the scattering matrix and its connection with physically observable quantities. This text presents a stationary formulation of the scattering problem and the wave functions of a particle found in an external field. This book also examines the analytic properties of the scattering matrix, dispersion relations, complex angular moments, as well as the separable representation of the scattering amplitude. The text also explains the method of factorizing the potential and the two-particle scattering amplitude, based on the Hilbert-Schmidt theorem for symmetric integral equations. In investigating the problem of scattering in a three-particle system, this book notes that the inapplicability of the Lippman-Schwinger equations can be fixed by appropriately re-arranging the equations. Faddeev equations are the new equations formed after such re-arrangements. This book also cites, as an example, the scattering of a spin-1/2 particle by a spinless particle (such as the scattering of a nucleon by a spinless nucleus). This text is suitable for students and professors dealing with quantum mechanics, theoretical nuclear physics, or other fields of advanced physics.