Elastic scattering of electron by a Yukawa potential in non-commutative spacetime

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the elastic scattering of an electron by a Yukawa potential within the framework of non-commutative (NC) geometry. We first derive the NC correction to the Yukawa potential at leading order in the NC parameter, resulting in a modified potential resembling a screened Kratzer potential. This potential reduces to the standard Kratzer form when considering the NC correction to the Coulomb potential. Subsequently, we calculate the NC correction to the electron scattering amplitude using the first-order Born approximation. We then analyze the effects of NC geometry on both the differential and total cross sections for elastic scattering. Our results indicate that non-commutativity enhances the differential cross section at small scattering angles and naturally gives rise to a Kratzer-like potential, reflecting the quantum nature of spacetime. Additionally, we establish a direct relationship between the system's energy level and the bound on the NC parameter. Specifically, for an ultra-relativistic incident electron scattering by a heavy molecule, we derive a new lower bound on $\Theta$ of the order of $10^{-28}\,\text{m}$.