Coupled-static calculations of the partial and total cross sections of positron-lithium inelastic scattering

The inelastic scattering of positrons by lithium atoms has been investigated in details using a combination of the frozen-core and coupled-static approximations. The ground state of the target has been described by Walters' wave functions. The partial cross sections corresponding to 8 values of the total angular momentuml (0l7) are determined for 21 values of the incident energy lying between 0·1 and 1000 eV. Our results illustrate the stability of the iterative numerical technique employed. They demonstrate the role played by each partial wave in the total cross sections and emphasize the argument that the effect of positronium formation on the total collisional cross sections diminishes when the incident energy is larger than 30 eV.