Electron scattering is the process whereby an electron

Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...

 is deflected from its original trajectory

Trajectory

A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...

. As they are charged particle

Charged particle

In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. It may be either a subatomic particle or an ion. A collection of charged particles, or even a gas containing a proportion of charged particles, is called a plasma, which is called the fourth state of matter because its...

s, they are subject to electromagnetic forces.

Phenomena

Electrons can be scattered

Scattering

Scattering is a general physical process where some forms of radiation, such as light, sound, or moving particles, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by one or more localized non-uniformities in the medium through which they pass. In conventional use, this also includes deviation of...

 by other charged particles through the electrostatic Coulomb forces

Coulomb's law

Coulomb's law or Coulomb's inverse-square law, is a law of physics describing the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles. It was first published in 1785 by French physicist Charles Augustin de Coulomb and was essential to the development of the theory of electromagnetism...

. Furthermore, if a magnetic field is present, a traveling electron will be deflected by the Lorentz force

Lorentz force

In physics, the Lorentz force is the force on a point charge due to electromagnetic fields. It is given by the following equation in terms of the electric and magnetic fields:...

. An extremely accurate description of all electron scattering, including quantum and relativistic aspects, is given by the theory of quantum electrodynamics

Quantum electrodynamics

Quantum electrodynamics is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and special relativity is achieved...

.

Types

Common electron scattering processes include:

• Compton scattering
  Compton scattering
  In physics, Compton scattering is a type of scattering that X-rays and gamma rays undergo in matter. The inelastic scattering of photons in matter results in a decrease in energy of an X-ray or gamma ray photon, called the Compton effect...
  
  , in which an electron absorbs a photon and reemits it, changing the energy and momentum of both;
• Møller scattering
  Møller scattering
  Møller scattering is the name given to electron-electron scattering in Quantum Field Theory. The electron interaction that is idealized in Møller scattering forms the theoretical basis of many familiar phenomena such as the repulsion of electrons in the Helium nucleus...
  
  , in which two electrons scatter off of one another;
• Bhabha scattering
  Bhabha scattering
  In quantum electrodynamics, Bhabha scattering is the electron-positron scattering process:There are two leading-order Feynman diagrams contributing to this interaction: an annihilation process and a scattering process. The Bhabha scattering rate is used as a luminosity monitor in electron-positron...
  
  , in which an electron and a positron scatter;
• Bremsstrahlung
  Bremsstrahlung
  Bremsstrahlung is electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of a charged particle when deflected by another charged particle, typically an electron by an atomic nucleus. The moving particle loses kinetic energy, which is converted into a photon because energy is conserved. The term is...
  
  , in which an electron (most commonly, but also any other particle) passes by a heavy charged object (like a nucleus), changes energy and direction, and emits a photon;
• Deep inelastic scattering
  Deep Inelastic Scattering
  Deep inelastic scattering is the name given to a process used to probe the insides of hadrons , using electrons, muons and neutrinos. It provided the first convincing evidence of the reality of quarks, which up until that point had been considered by many to be a purely mathematical phenomenon...
  
  , in which a high-energy electron interacts with a nucleus and breaks it up;
• Synchrotron emission, in which an electron interacts with an external magnetic field, changes direction, and emits a photon.