Electron scattering from nonlinear molecules using multicentre wavefunction expansions

Summary The scattering of slow electrons by polyatomic molecules is studied within a full quantum formulation of the problem, and the wavefunctions of the target molecular bound electrons are obtained from a multicentre expansion (MCE) of Gaussian-type orbitals (GTOs) within the single-determinant Hartree-Fock (HF)-SCF scheme. It is shown that the scattering calculations require the solution of radial coupled equations where the interaction is obtained as a further multipolar expansion at the target centre of mass (c.o.m.), while the relevant numerical procedures are discussed for systems like SiH₄, GeH₄ and CF₄. The ensuing interaction coefficients are used to carry out convergence studies of the scattering cross-sections, over a broad range of energies, in the case of silane targets. The results are found to be rapidly converging for such a system, while the different behaviour expected for other targets is also analysed and explained.