On the Coulomb effect in laser-assisted proton scattering by a stationary atomic nucleus

In the framework of the first Born approximation, we investigate the scenario where in addition to a laser field, a nuclear Coulomb field is also present to affect a proton. We work in the approximation in which the proton is considered to be a structureless spin 1/2 Dirac particle with a mass m_p. Furthermore, in the laboratory system, the fixed nucleus is treated as a point-like Coulomb potential. In the presence of a laser field, and taking into account the Coulomb effect, the proton will be described by distorted Dirac–Volkov wave functions. The introduction of the Coulomb effect to both the incident and scattered proton will enhance the relativistic differential cross sections (RDCSs). Regarding the physical picture, it is found that for the various kinetic energies of the incident proton, the Coulomb effect can be neglected at high kinetic energies in this particular geometry. Therefore, Dirac–Volkov states are largely sufficient to describe the laser-dressed protons. The behavior of the various RDCSs versus the atomic number Z is also presented. (paper)