Analysis Of Excitation And Ionization Of Atoms And Molecules By Electron Impact

The content of this book describes in detail the results of the present measurements of the partial and total doubly differential cross sections for the multiple-ionization of rare gas atoms by electron impact. These measurements show, beside other trends, the role of Auger transitions in the production of multiply ionized atoms in the region where the incident electron energy is sufficient to produce inner shell ionization. Other processes like Coster-Kronig transitions and shake off also contribute towards increasing the charge of the ions. The incident electron having energy of 6 keV, for example, in a collision with xenon atom can remove up to nine electrons! (*) X-ray-ion coincidence spectroscopy of the electron xenon atom collisions is also described. The present measurements of doubly differential cross sections for the dissociative and non-dissociative ionization of hydrogen, sulfur dioxide and sulfur hexa fluoride molecular gases by electron impact are also described in the text of this book. The results of the measurements for sulfur dioxide molecule show how this major atmospheric pollutant can be removed from the atmosphere by electron impact dissociation of this molecule. The present results of the measurements for sulfur hexa fluoride give an insight into the dissociation properties of this molecular gas, which is being so widely used as a gaseous insulator in the electrical circuits. The book also describes the present measurements of the polarization parameters of the fluorescence radiation emitted by the electron-impact-excited atoms of sodium and potassium. In these investigations the target atoms are polarized, therefore, the measurements of the polarization parameters give information about the electron atom interaction in terms of the interference, direct and exchange interaction channels.

Intended for advanced students of physics, chemistry and related disciplines, this text treats the quantum theory of atoms and ions within the framework of self-consistent fields. Data needed for the analysis of collisions and other atomic processes are also included.

It is perhaps surprising that a process which was one of the first to be studied on an atomic scale, and a process which first received attention over seven decades ago, continues to be the object of diverse and intense research efforts. Such is the case with the (seemingly) conceptually simple and familiar mechanism of electron impact ionization of atoms, molecules, and ions. Not only has the multi-body nature of the collision given ground to theoretical effort only grudgingly, but also the variety and subtlety of processes contributing to ionization have helped insure that progress has come only with commensurate work: no pain - no gain. Modern experimental methods have made it possible to effectively measure and explore threshold laws, differential cross sections, partial cross sections, inner-shell ionization, and the ionization of unstable species such as radicals and ions. In most instances the availability of experimental data has provided impetus and guidance for further theoretical progress.

An understanding of the collisions between micro particles is of great importance for the number of fields belonging to physics, chemistry, astrophysics, biophysics etc. The present book, a theory for electron-atom and molecule collisions is developed using non-relativistic quantum mechanics in a systematic and lucid manner. The scattering theory is an essential part of the quantum mechanics course of all universities. During the last 30 years, the author has lectured on the topics presented in this book (collisions physics, photon-atom collisions, electron-atom and electron-molecule collisions, "electron-photon delayed coincidence technique", etc.) at many institutions including Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, The University of Western Ontario, Canada, and The Meerut University, India. The present book is the outcome of those lectures and is written to serve as a textbook for post-graduate and pre-PhD students and as a reference book for researchers.

Electron and Photon Impact Ionisation and Related Topics 2002 provides an overview of recent international research in the field of ionization by electron and photon impact. Emphasizing multi-particle coincidence studies, such as (e,2e), (e,3e), ionization-excitation, and double photo-ionization, the book contains 18 contributions of recent experimental, theoretical, and computational achievements in the realization, interpretation, and modeling of correlated processes that involve a wide range of targets, including atoms, molecules, and surfaces. It also covers nuclear reactions and interaction of electrons, photons, and ions with biological matter. This book is an essential reference for researchers working in atomic and molecular physics, surface science, chemistry, and biophysics.