An Overview of the Compton Scattering Calculation

The Compton scattering process plays significant roles in atomic and molecular physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics and material science. It could provide useful information on the electromagnetic interaction between light and matter. Several aspects of many-body physics, such us electronic structures, electron momentum distributions, many-body interactions of bound electrons, etc., can be revealed by Compton scattering experiments. In this work, we give a review of ab initio calculation of Compton scattering process. Several approaches, including the free electron approximation (FEA), impulse approximation (IA), incoherent scattering function/incoherent scattering factor (ISF) and scattering matrix (SM) are focused on in this work. The main features and available ranges for these approaches are discussed. Furthermore, we also briefly introduce the databases and applications for Compton scattering.

Automated summary

This review article summarizes the ab initio calculation of the Compton scattering process and focuses on several approaches, including the free electron approximation, impulse approximation, incoherent scattering function/incoherent scattering factor, and scattering matrix. The main features and available ranges of these approaches are discussed, along with a brief introduction to databases and applications for Compton scattering.