Autoionization cross section of lithium atoms excited by electron impact

We measure the full autoionization cross section of lithium atoms excited by electrons in the energy range from the first autoionization threshold at 56.39 to 600 eV. Data are obtained by determining the total intensity of electron spectrum of autoionization states 1sn ₁ l ₁ n ₂ l ₂ detected at the “magic” observation angle of 54.7°. The cross section behavior is characterized by a sharp increase to a maximum value of 1.7 × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² in the energy interval of 56.4–60 eV and a subsequent monotonic drop to a value of 10⁻¹⁸ cm² at 600 eV. We have discovered a “thin” cross section structure that reflects the presence of strong resonances of Li⁻ ions in the near-threshold area of excitation of the lowest energy autoionization states (1s2s2)2S, (1s2s2p)⁴ P, 1s(2s2p ³ P)² P), and 1s(2s2p ¹ P)² P. We have established that the contribution of autoionization to the absolute cross section of single ionization of lithium atoms does not exceed 4%. We perform a comparative analysis of the data with analogous data for potassium and cesium atoms.     

Measurement of the absolute Raman cross section of the optical phonon in silicon

The absolute Raman cross section σ_RS of the first-order 519 cm⁻¹ optical phonon in silicon was measured using a small temperature-controlled blackbody for the signal calibration of the Raman system. Measurements were made with a 25-mil thick (001) silicon sample located in the focal plane of a 20-mm effective focal length (EFL) lens using 785-, 1064-, and 1535-nm CW pump lasers for the excitation of Raman scattering. The pump beam was polarized along the [100] axis of the silicon sample. Values of 1.0±0.2×10⁻²⁷, 3.6±0.7×10⁻²⁸, and 1.1±0.2×10⁻²⁹ cm² were determined for for 785-, 1064-, and 1535-nm excitation, respectively. The corresponding values of the Raman scattering efficiency S are 4.0±0.8×10⁻⁶, 1.4±0.3×10⁻⁶, and 4.4±0.8×10⁻⁸ cm⁻¹ sr⁻¹.The values of the Raman polarizability |d| for 785-, 1064-, and 1535-nm excitation are 4.4±0.4×10⁻¹⁵, 5.1±0.5×10⁻¹⁵, and 1.9±0.2×10⁻¹⁵ cm², respectively. The values of 4.4±0.4×10⁻¹⁵ and 5.1±0.5×10⁻¹⁵ cm² for |d| for 785- and 1064-nm excitation, respectively, are 1.3 and 2.0 times larger than the values of 3.5×10⁻¹⁵ and 2.5×10⁻¹⁵ cm² calculated by Wendel. The Raman polarizability |d| computed using the density functional theory in the long-wavelength limit is consistent with the general trend of the measured data and Wendel’s model.     

Logarithmically accurate total cross sections of fast electron scattering by atoms

A simple analytical formula for the total integrated cross section of fast electron scattering by atoms is obtained. This formula, being logarithmically accurate, is derived from the approximate rule of sum that does not take into account exchange effects in the atomic wave function (Hartree approximation). It is shown that exchange effects can be neglected in that scattered electron energy range where the first Born approximation is valid. The results of calculation for He, Ne, and Ar atoms agree well with experimental data.     

Measurement of the absolute n p scattering differential cross section at 194 MeV

We describe a double-scattering experiment with a novel tagged neutron beam to measure differential cross sections for np backscattering to better than +/-2% absolute precision. The measurement focuses on angles and energies where the cross section magnitude and angle dependence constrain the charged pion-nucleon coupling constant, but existing data show serious discrepancies among themselves and with energy-dependent partial-wave analyses. The present results are in good accord with the partial-wave analyses, but deviate systematically from other recent measurements.     

Measurement of the absolute cross section for the elementary process of atomic field bremsstrahlung

Coincidence measurements of the absolute cross section for the production of bremsstrahlung by electrons in the field of gold atoms are reported. The incident electron energyT ₀ was 300 keV. Measurements were made for four different combinations of electron scattering angle and photon emission angle over a wide range of the relative photon energyk/T ₀ up tok/T ₀=0.83. The measured cross sections are compared with results of Bethe-Heitler and Elwert-Haug calculations     

Measurements of total absolute collision cross section of ultracold Rb atom using magneto-optic and pure magnetic traps

The implementation of a technique to measure total collision cross sections using laser-cooled rubidium atoms along with the introduction of room-temperature background gases, confined in both magnetooptic and magnetic traps, is proposed. Atom loss from the trap and total collision cross section can be inferred from the knowledge of the density of background gases. The measured cross sections from the magneto-optic and magnetic traps are represented, compared, and found to be significantly different. The measurements using this technique have a very small error in the range of approximately 2%-7%.     

Differential cross sections for ionization of laser-aligned atoms by electron impact

The first experimental data are given for (e,2e) ionization from laser-aligned atoms. A linearly polarized laser excited Mg atoms to the 31P? state prior to ionization by low energy electrons. The scattered and ejected electrons were detected in coincidence and the differential cross section determined for a range of alignment angles. An asymmetric coplanar geometry was used, with one electron fixed and the other detected at different angles. The data are compared to that from the spherically symmetric 31S? state. Significant differences are found, in both magnitude and angular distribution.     

Autoionization cross section of potassium atom excited by electron impact

The autoionization cross section of potassium atoms excited by electron impact is measured in the energy range from the first autoionization threshold at 18.72 eV to 202 eV. The data are obtained by deter-mining the total intensity of electron spectra resulting from the decay of the 3p ⁵ n ₁ l ₁ n ₂ l ₂ autoionizing states. The cross section has two maxima, 1.8 × 10^?16 and 2.2 × 10^?16 cm², at 21 and 32 eV, respectively. The excitation dynamics of autoionization states suggests that the first maximum is associated with the resonance character of the near-threshold excitation. The second maximum, as well as the behavior of the cross section at energies above 50 eV, reflects the dynamics of electron excitation of quartet and doublet autoionizing states. The measured autoionization cross section is compared with known data for the total single ionization cross section of potassium atom by electron impact. The relative contribution of the autoionization cross section to the total single ionization cross section is found to reach 30% at 32 eV.     

Glory undulations in the total cross section for scattering of heavy rare gas atoms

In a supersonic molecular beam apparatus the velocity dependence of the total cross section for scattering of argon and krypton beams by argon, krypton and xenon has been measured for relative velocities ranging from 0.55 to 4.30 km · s^-1. For all these systems a number of glory extrema were well resolved. The measured cross sections are compared with cross sections calculated on the basis of recently proposed pair potentials. For the systems Ar-Ar, Kr-Kr and Ar-Kr the glory structure is fairly well described by the potentials, however, the energy dependence of the cross sections is not. The available potentials for the systems Ar-Xe and Kr-Xe describe the glory structure less accurately. Rather severe changes of the potentials will be required to obtain agreement with the total cross section data. A qualitative analysis of the required changes is presented.     

An analysis of available absolute total cross section data for noble gas systems

The most important literature data on absolute total cross sections for noble gas systems have been surveyed. A comparison has been made with total cross sections calculated from various interatomic potentials proposed in the literature and with the total cross sections deduced from the long range part of the potential theoretically derived by Tang et al. for the noble gas systems.     

Empirical model for electron impact ionization cross sections of neutral atoms

A simple empirical formula is proposed for the rapid calculation of electron impact total ionization cross sections both for the open- and closed-shell neutral atoms considered in the range 1≤ Z≤92 and the incident electron energies from threshold to about 10⁴ eV. The results of the present analysis are compared with the available experimental and theoretical data. The proposed model provides a fast method for calculating fairly accurate electron impact total ionization cross sections of atoms. This model may be a prudent choice, for the practitioners in the field of applied sciences e.g. in plasma modeling, due to its simple inherent structure.     

Triple differential cross section in ionization of hydrogen by electron impact

A novel model is proposed to study the ionization of atomic hydrogen by fast election impact in coplanar asymmetric geometry making use of the post form of the transition matrix element for the energy shell and the two-potential formula. Based on the approximation of projectile plane waves and three-body problems, the transition matrix element is decomposed into two parts: the structure and scattering factor and the correlation factor. The contributions of these factors to triple differential cross sections are investigated using the method of asymptotic and convergent series.