What does VCS mean in PHYSICS

Virtual Compton Scattering (VCS) is a scattering process in which two photons interact, resulting in a new photon or electrons.

VCS has been studied extensively in both nuclear and particle physics, as it can provide insight into the structure of the nucleus, its constituents, and other particles.

In VCS, an incoming photon interacts with one of the nucleons inside a nucleus through an intermediate virtual photon. As a result of this interaction, the incoming photon is scattered off the nucleon at an angle determined by its momentum transfer to the nucleon.

Yes, VCS can be used to study various physical processes such as electromagnetic transitions between energy levels in nuclei and proton-neutron interactions within nuclei. Additionally, VCS has also been used to study hadronic interactions between quarks and gluons within nucleons.

Experiments involving VSC include high-energy electron scattering experiments conducted at various laboratories around the world including DESY, SLAC and CERN. These experiments measure various observables such as cross sections for different reaction types in order to gain insight into fundamental properties of matter such as quark distributions inside nucleons.