Collisions Of Electrons With Atoms And Molecules

This book is a short outline of the present state of the theory of electron collisions with atomic particles - atoms, molecules and ions. It is addressed to those who by nature of their work need detailed information about the cross sections of various processes of electron collisions with atomic particles: experimentalists working in plasma physics, optics, quantum electronics, atmospheric and space physics, 'etc. Some of the cross sections have been measured. But in many important cases the only source of information is theoretical calcu lation. The numerous theoretical papers dealing with electronic collision processes contain various approximations. The inter relation between them and the level of their accuracy is often diffi cult to understand without a systematic study of the theory of atomic collisions, not to mention that theoretical considerations are necessary for the consistent interpretation of experimental results. The main constituents of the book are: 1. General theory with special emphasis on the topics most impor tant for understanding and discussing electron collisions with atomic particles.

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.

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.

The papers collected in this volume have been presented during a workshop on "Electron-Atom and Molecule Collisions" held at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of the University of Bielefeld in May 1980. This workshop, part of a larger program concerned with the "Properties and Reactions of Isolated Molecules and Atoms," focused on the theory and computational techniques for the quanti tative description of electron scattering phenomena. With the advances which have been made in the accurate quantum mechanical characterisation of bound states of atoms and molecules, the more complicated description of the unbound systems and resonances important in electron collision processes has matured too. As expli cated in detail in the articles of this volume, the theory for the quantitative explanation of elastic and inelastic electron molecule collisions, of photo- and multiple photon ionization and even for electron impact ionization is well developed in a form which lends itself to a complete quantitative ab initio interpretation and pre diction of the observable effects. Many of the experiences gained and the techniques which have evolved over the years in the com putational characterization of bound states have become an essential basis for this development. To be sure, much needs to be done before we have a complete and detailed theoretical understanding of the known collisional processes and of the phenomena and effects, which may still be un covered with the continuing refinement of the experimental tech niques.

Scattering phenomena play an important role in modern physics. Many significant discoveries have been made through collision experiments. Amongst diverse kinds of collision systems, this book sheds light on the collision of an electron with a molecule. The electron-molecule collision provides a basic scattering problem. It is scattering by a nonspherical, multicentered composite particle with its centers having degrees of freedom of motion. The molecule can even disintegrate, Le., dissociate or ionize into fragments, some or all of which may also be molecules. Although it is a difficult problem, the recent theoretical, experimental, and computational progress has been so significant as to warrant publication of a book that specializes in this field. The progress owes partly to technical develop ments in measurements and computations. No less important has been the great and continuing stimulus from such fields of application as astrophysics, the physics of the earth's upper atmosphere, laser physics, radiation physics, the physics of gas discharges, magnetohydrodynamic power generation, and so on. This book aims at introducing the reader to the problem of electron molecule collisions, elucidating the physics behind the phenomena, and review ing, to some extent, up-to-date important results. This book should be appropri ate for graduate reading in physics and chemistry. We also believe that investi gators in atomic and molecular physics will benefit much from this book.

Research on photon and electron collisions with atomic and molecular targets and their ions has seen a rapid increase in interest, both experimentally and theoretically, in recent years. This is partly because these processes provide an ideal means of investigating the dynamics of many particle systems at a fundamental level and partly because their detailed understanding is required in many other fields, particularly astrophysics, plasma physics and controlled thermonuclear fusion, laser physics, atmospheric processes, isotope separation, radiation physics and chemistry and surface science. In recent years a number of important advances have been made, both on the experimental side and on the theoretical side. On the experimental side these include absolute measurements of cross sections, experiments using coincidence techniques, the use of polarised beams and targets, the development of very high energy resolution electron beams, the use of synchrotron radiation sources and ion storage rings, the study of laser assisted atomic collisions, the interaction of super-intense lasers with atoms and molecules and the increasing number of studies using positron beams.

The collision of electrons with molecules and molecular ions is a fundamental pro cess in atomic and molecular physics and in chemistry. At high incident electron en ergies, electron-molecule collisions are used to deduce molecular geometries, oscillator strengths for optically allowed transitions, and in the case of electron-impact ionization, to probe the momentum distribution of the molecule itself. When the incident electron energy is comparable to or below those of the molecular valence electrons, the physics involved is particularly rich. Correlation and exchange effects necessary to describe such collision processes bear a close resemblance to similar efft:cts in the theory of electronic structure in molecules. Compound state formations, in the form of resonances and vir tual states, manifest themselves in experimental observables which provide details of the electron-molecule interactions. Ro-vibrational excitations by low-energy electron collisions exemplify energy transfer between the electronic and nuclear motion. The role of nonadiabatic interaction is raised here. When the final vibrational state is in the continuum, molecular dissociation occurs. Dissociative recombination and dissociative attachment are examples of such fragmentation processes. In addition to its fundamental nature, the study of electron-molecule collisions is also motivated by its relation to other fields of study and by its technological appli cations. The study of planetary atmospheres and the interstellar medium necessarily involve collision processes of electrons with molecules and molecular ions.

The interaction of electrons with atoms is the field that most deeply probes both the structure and reaction dynamics of a many-body system. This book is a comprehensive introduction to the theory and experiments behind electron-atom collisions. The book begins with a short account of experimental techniques of cross-section measurement. It then introduces the essential quantum mechanics background needed. The following chapters cover one-electron problems (from the classic particle in a box to a relativistic electron in a central potential), the theory of atomic bound states, formal scattering theory, calculation of scattering amplitudes, spin-independent and spin-dependent scattering observables, ionization, and electron momentum spectroscopy. The connections between experimental and theoretical developments are emphasized throughout. Students of atomic, molecular, and chemical physics as well as physical chemistry will be interested in this monograph.