Ionization of diatomic molecules by electron impact

An analytical expression for the amplitude of ionization of the hydrogen molecule by electron impact in the first Born approximation with a one-center Coulomb continuum wave function is derived. The case where the incident electron energy is much greater than the ejected electron energy is considered. The molecular wave functions were constructed in the approximation of linear combination of atomic orbitals with overlapping configurations. The role of the orthogonalization of the initial and final wave functions of the active electron of the target is elucidated. The triple differential ionization cross sections for the different orientations of the molecular axis and that averaged over all orientations are calculated. The secondary electron angular distribution is represented in the form of three-dimensional images. A comparison with the results of other theoretical calculations and experimental data is performed.