Scattering of atoms by a stationary sinusoidal hard wall: Rigorous treatment in (n+1) dimensions and comparison with the Rayleigh method

摘要

A rigorous treatment of the scattering of atoms by a stationary sinusoidal hard wall in (n+1) dimensions is presented, a previous treatment by Masel, Merrill, and Miller forn=1 being contained as a special case. Numerical comparisons are made with the GR method of Garcia, which incorporates the Rayleigh hypothesis. Advantages and disadvantages of both methods are discussed, and it is concluded that the Rayleigh GR method, if handled properly, will probably work satisfactorily in physically realistic cases.