The Compton wavelength is a quantum mechanical property of a particle. It was introduced by Arthur Compton in his explanation of the scattering of photons by electrons (a process known as Compton scattering). The Compton wavelength of a particle is equivalent to the wavelength of a photon whose energy is the same as the rest-mass energy of the particle.
The Compton wavelength, λ, of a particle is given by
where h is the Planck constant, m is the particle's rest mass, and c is the speed of light. The significance of this formula is shown in the derivation of the Compton shift formula.
The Comptom wavelength, λ, of an electron, which can be derived by using the relativistic energy-momentum equation, is also given by
where h is the Planck constant and p is the electron's momentum. This is similar to the De Broglie wavelength.
The CODATA 2006 value for the Compton wavelength of the electron is 2.4263102175±33×10−12 m. Other particles have different Compton wavelengths.