Low-energy electron collisions with sodium: Scattering of spin-polarized electrons

Published

October 12, 2021

Author(s)

H L. Zhou, B L. Whitten, W K. Trail, M A. Morrison, K B. MacAdam, K Bartschat, D W. Norcross

Abstract

The electron-sodium system is an excellent prototype of non-relativistic electron scattering from a quasi-one-electron atomic target, and is tractable both experimentally and theoretically. Recently, this system has been studied in a series of sophisticated measurements that together approach complete experiments for elastic (3s>3s) and inelastic (3s>3p) scattering. We here apply the theory of orientation and alignment (OA) in atomic collisions to this system using scattering matricies from coupled channel R-calculations described in the first paper in this series [W.K. Trail et al., Phys. Rev. A 49, 3620 (1994)]. To facilitate extension of OA theory to other transitions and systems and to clarify its relationship to canonical scattering theory, we present a reformulation in terms of the state spaces indentified by a particular scattering event. Following application of this formulation to paradigmatic OA experiments, we compare our results to those from existing measurements and other theoretical calculations. To contextualize these experments and aid in identifying promising regions for future measurments, we also present a comprehensive three-dimentional overview of the differential OA parameters for energies from threshold to 8.6 eV.

Citation

Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

electron collision, electron scattering, spin-polarized electrons

Citation

Zhou, H. , Whitten, B. , Trail, W. , Morrison, M. , MacAdam, K. , Bartschat, K. and Norcross, D. (2021), Low-energy electron collisions with sodium: Scattering of spin-polarized electrons, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics) (Accessed April 19, 2024)