The Inverse Problem in the Quantum Theory of Scattering

Abstract

This report is a translation from the Russian of a survey article by L. D. Faddeyev, which appeared in Uspekhi Matem. Nauk., 14, 57 (1959). Our own interest in this article lies in its relevance to the inverse scattering problem—that is, the problem of determining information about a medium from which an electromagnetic wave is reflected, given a knowledge of the reflection coefficient. Similar questions concerning scattering phenomena in other branches of physics, e.g., in quantum mechanics, can be investigated by means of the same theory. We have therefore thought it worth‐while to reproduce and distribute the translation. A good indication of the contents is given in the Introduction.