Polarization of atomic hydrogen lines upon collision with an electron beam

A technique is described for the analytical calculation of the degree of linear polarization of atomic hydrogen lines formed by several radiative transitions with different polarizations upon excitation by an electron impact. The degree of linear polarization of the line L of the hydrogen atom is calculated as an example. The analytical equations used are derived by the Born method. The results of the analytical calculation are compared with experiment and with other calculations. The effective excitation cross sections and the degree of linear polarization of the H_α and H_β lines of the hydrogen atom are calculated analytically for the case of electron-beam excitation. The results of the analytical calculation of the effective excitation cross section of the H_α line are compared with the available experimental and calculated data.