Effect of shape on molecular directional Compton profiles

Abstract

It is a pleasure for us to write in honor of Vedene Smith on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Since his first paper was published in 1960 (H.A. Gersch, V.H. Smith, Jr., Phys. Rev. 119 (1960) 886), Vedene has written on subjects ranging from drug design (K.E. Edgecombe, D.F. Weaver, V.H. Smith, Jr., Can. J. Chem. 72 (1994) 1388) to fusion (A.M. Frolov, V.H. Smith, Jr., Phys. Lett. A 196 (1994) 217), and most of the intervening chemical physics. One thread that has recurred throughout his scientific career, so far spanning more than 4% of the millennium, concerns electronic momentum densities in atoms and molecules, and properties that can be derived from these densities. Such properties usually involve scattering in one guise or another, and the particular form of scattering we consider in this contribution is one with which Vedene has concerned himself (R. Benesch, V.H. Smith, Jr., Int. J. Quantum Chem. 3S (1970) 413) for the past 30 years, namely Compton scattering. Vedene has expended much effort on the careful construction of accurate Compton profiles. Here we consider an orthogonal complement to his work, namely a simple, qualitative approach to the prediction of anisotropy in the Compton profiles of molecules. It is a pleasure for us to offer this contribution in honor of Vedene on his 65th birthday, on a subject that he has had much success in exploring.