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arXiv:1408.1389 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Scattering of low-energy electrons and positrons by atomic beryllium: Ramsauer–Townsend effect

David D. Reid, J. M. Wadehra

Published Nov 7, 2014• 23 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Total cross sections for the scattering of low-energy electrons and positrons by atomic beryllium in the energy range below the first inelastic thresholds are calculated. A Ramsauer–Townsend minimum is seen in the electron scattering cross sections, while no such effect is found in the case of positron scattering. A minimum total cross section of 0.016 a 0 2 at 0.0029 eV is observed for the electron case. In the limit of zero energy, the cross sections yield a scattering length of −0.61 a 0 for electron and a 0 for positron scattering.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/47/22/225211

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Total cross sections for the scattering of low-energy electrons and positrons by atomic beryllium in the energy range below the first inelastic thresholds are calculated. A Ramsauer–Townsend minimum is seen in the electron scattering cross sections, while no such effect is found in the case of positron scattering. A minimum total cross section of 0.016 a 0 2 at 0.0029 eV is observed for the electron case. In the limit of zero energy, the cross sections yield a scattering length of −0.61 a 0 for electron and a 0 for positron scattering.
A pseudopotential for positronium-atom interaction, based on electron-atom and positron-atom phase shifts, is constructed, and the phase shifts for Ps-Kr and Ps-Ar scattering are calculated. This approach allows us to extend the Ps-atom cross sections, obtained previously in the impulse approximation [I. I. Fabrikant and G. F. Gribakin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 243201 (2014)], to energies below the Ps ionization threshold. Although experimental data are not available in this low-energy region, our results describe well the tendency of the measured cross sections to drop with decreasing velocity at v<1v<1v<1 a.u. Our results show that the effect of the Ps-atom van der Waals interaction is weak compared to the polarization interaction in electron-atom and positron-atom scattering. As a result, the Ps scattering length for both Ar and Kr is positive, and the Ramsauer-Townsend minimum is not observed for Ps scattering from these targets. This makes Ps scattering quite different from electron scattering in the low-energy region, in contrast to the intermediate energy range from the Ps ionization threshold up to $v\ensuremath{\sim}2$ a.u., where the two are similar.
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