Deep Interference Minima in Non-Coplanar Triple Differential Cross Sections for the Electron-Impact Ionization of Small Atoms and Molecules

Abstract

The time-dependent close-coupling method and a distorted-wave approach are used to explore deep minima discovered in the non-coplanar triple differential cross sections for the electron-impact ionization of helium. This phenomenon has been well studied experimentally but so far has not been investigated by a non-perturbative theoretical approach. We find that our time-dependent calculations reproduce very well the experimental minima, and that the distorted-wave calculations also confirm this phenomenon. Further investigations reveal that the minima appear to be due to deep destructive interference between the partial wave contributions which make up the cross sections. We also show that similar minima may be found in triple differential cross sections arising from the electron-impact ionization of atomic and molecular hydrogen.

Department(s)

Physics

Sponsor(s)

Los Alamos National Laboratory
National Science Foundation (U.S.)
United States. Department of Energy
Great Britain. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Keywords and Phrases

Electron Scattering; Impact Ionization; Particle Detectors; Helium

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0953-4075

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2009 Institute of Physics - IOP Publishing, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Aug 2009

Link to Full Text

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