A shadow of the repulsive Rutherford scattering in the laboratory frame

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Petar Žugec
• Author: Dario Rudec
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Science; (Department of Physics)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: NATURAL SCIENCES; Physics

Abstract (english)

Abstract The paper explores the Rutherford scattering shadow in an entire class of comoving frames—inertial frames moving along the initial projectile direction—of which the laboratory frame, where the target is initially at rest, is a representative example. The paper is a continuation of the previous work addressing the scattering shadow in the fixed-target and the center-of-mass frame. It is shown that the transition from these frames is technically quite involved, due to the scattering shadow forming at an infinite distance from an initial target position. The central procedure involves solving the 5th degree polynomial as a part of an associated extremization procedure. The shadow existence itself is subject to certain conditions, dependent on a given comoving frame. A new and unexpected phenomenon is found within a certain set of comoving frames, including the laboratory frame itself. It consists of a phase transition between an entirely smooth type of shadow and the one characterized by a formation of a sharp edge.

• Keywords (english): Rutherford scattering; shadow; comoving frame; laboratory frame
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review - international
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: European Journal of Physics
• Numbering: vol. 42, no. 5, 055018
• p-ISSN: 0143-0807
• e-ISSN: 1361-6404
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/ac172d
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:217:450873
• Publication: 2021-08-10
• Document URL: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6404/ac172d
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Public note: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Received 24 December 2020, revised 8 July 2021 Accepted for publication 22 July 2021 Published 10 August 2021.
• Created on: 2024-09-22 12:51:45