Quantum Theory A Foundational Approach

Scattering experiments are one of our most important tools for extracting information about the structure and interactions of microscopic systems. In these experiments, we prepare a beam of particles of a given type and we direct it towards a target. The interaction of the particles in the beam with those of the target may lead to various phenomena: changes in the direction and the energy of incoming particles, absorption of incoming particles, the appearance of new species of particles, and so on. The target is surrounded by particle detectors that identify the particles that exit the interaction region and measure their momenta.