COMPUTATION OF COMPTON PROFILES IN A WEAK LASER FIELD

A modified numerical scheme for the evaluation of Compton profiles in a weak laser field, based on an expression by Jain and Tzoar [Phys. Re v. A 18, 538 (1978)], is derived. The scheme is based on the reciproca l form factor and is computationally preferable to the original method . The scheme requires either a numerical Fourier transformation or the calculation of a one-dimensional integral, both of which are easily a chieved. We focus on the numerical integration, which is readily perfo rmed with a Gauss-Chebyshev quadrature. Stable results may be obtained by avoiding numerical derivatives. Some numerical tests are performed to study the convergence properties of the old and modified methods. The modified scheme is applied to study some atomic and molecular syst ems. The dependence of the profile modulation on the atomic number Z t hroughout the periodic table is established.