These lectures give a pedagogical introduction to real and virtual Compton scattering at low energies. We will first discuss real Compton scattering off a point particle as well as a composite system in the framework of nonrela-tivistic quantum mechanics. The concept of electromagnetic polarizabilities is introduced. We then address a description of the Compton-scattering ten-sor within quantum...

A review is given of the very recent developments in the fields of real and virtual Compton scattering off the nucleon. Both real and virtual Compton scattering reactions are discussed at low outgoing photon energy where one accesses polarizabilities of the nucleon. The real Compton scattering at large momentum transfer is discussed which is asymptotically a tool to obtain information on the va...

The goal of this presentation is to introduce the properties and scientific interests of the laser beam-electron beam Compton scattering. There are many possible applications for this process but the main technical difficulty is the requested very high laser beam average power. The various solutions that are presently worked out to provide the requested average power will be reviewed as well as...

Compton scattering (γ+p → γ+p) in the hard scattering limit is a potentially powerful probe of the short-distance structure of the nucleon. It is a natural complement to high Q exclusive reactions, such as elastic form factors and deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS), where the common feature is a hard energy scale, leading to a factorization of the transition amplitude into a part involvin...

The process of the energy interchange between radiation and matter provided by Compton scattering is relevant in many areas of physics. For example, in cosmology it keeps the matter at the same temperature as radiation [1]. Compton scattering is also a unique spectroscopy for condensed-matter physics, which has acquired greater importance with the advent of modern synchrotron sources [2–4]. For...

This article investigates into the feasibility of using gamma radiation Compton backscatter spectra as a means of material characterization, with the view to developing a portable, hand held probe for investigative purposes such as searching for illicit substances hidden in wall or car door cavities.

The basic theoretical ideas of the handbag mechanism for wide-angle exclusive scattering reactions are discussed and, with regard to the present experimental program carried out at JLab, its application to Compton scattering is reviewed in some detail. Results for other wide-angle reactions such as two-photon annihilations into pairs of hadrons or virtual Compton scattering are presented as well.