Finite-rank potential that reproduces the Pade approximant

If a scattering potential is of a finite rank, say N, the exact solution of the problem can be obtained from the Born series, if the potential strength is within the radius of convergence; the exact solution can be obtained from the analytical continuation of the formal Born series outside the radius of convergence. Beyond the first 2N terms of the Born series, an individual term of the Born series depends on the first 2N terms, and the [N/N] Pade approximant and the exact solution agree with each other. The above-mentioned features of a finite-rank problem are relevant to scattering theory in general, because most scattering problems may be handled as an extension of the rank-N problem, in which the rank N tends to infinity. The foregoing aspects of scattering theory will be studied in depth in the present paper, and in so doing we proceed in the opposite direction. Namely, given a potential, we calculate the first 2N terms of the Born series for the K matrix and the first N terms of the Born series for the wave function. Using these data, a special rank-N potential is constructed in such a way that it reproduces the [N/N] Pade approximant of the K matrix of the original scattering problem. One great advantage of obtaining such a rank-N potential is that the wave function of the system may be approximated in the same spirit as done for the K matrix; hence, we can introduce a new approximation method for dealing with an off-shell T matrix. A part of the mathematical work is incomplete, but the physical aspects are thoroughly discussed