Week 8 Thomson Scattering

Question 1

when does Thomson scattering occur

Answer 1

radiation encounters a free electron and the energy of the photon &laquo_space;rest mass energy of the electron

Question 2

what is the most obvious difference between Thomson scattering and Compton scattering

Answer 2

Thomson is a non-relativistic process

Question 3

what happens to the photon during Thomson scattering

Answer 3

its frequency changes never its direction

Question 4

what two things does efficiency of scattering depend on

Answer 4

direction in which radiation is scattered and polarisation direction which defines θ (scattering angle)

Question 5

what happens to unpolarised light when scattered

Answer 5

it becomes linearly polarised orthogonally to the direction of the source

Question 6

how does intensity depend on frequency in optically thick regions

Answer 6

intensity is proportional to frequency squared

Question 7

briefly define cyclotron radiation

Answer 7

it is non-relativistic synchrotron radiation

Question 8

what is the angular gyrofrequency equation

Answer 8

ω = ωL/γ

Question 9

what results from cyclotron radiation

Answer 9

both emission and absorption