VELOCITY DEPENDENCE OF THE DIFFERENTIAL CROSS SECTIONS, AND POTENTIAL WELL DEPTHS FROM ATOMIC BEAM SCATTERING MEASUREMENTS: K-Hg AND Cs-Hg SYSTEMS
Fred A. Morse, Richard B. Bernstein
Measurements of the velocity dependence of the angular intensity distribution of potassium and cesium atomic beams scattered by a crossed atomic beam of mercury are presented. The alkali atomic beam was velocity-selected, having a triangular velocity distribution with a halfintensity width of 0.047 of the peak velocity. The alkali velocity could be varied over the range 185 to 1100 m/s. The Hg beam had a thermal velocity distribution. The average speed of the Hg atoms in a typical experiment was 235 m/s (the calculated half-intensity width of the velocity distribution was 190 m/s). A typical angular distribution curve showed the expected very large low angle scattering, but evidenced a region in which the slope changed sharply, often resulting in a bump on the curve. This behavior is indicative of the phenomenon of rainbow scattering. The energy dependence of the rainbow angle was used to evaluate the depth of the interatomic potential wells; values (in ergs x 10/sup 14/) obtained are 7.7/sub 2/ for Cs-Hg and 7.4/sub 6/ for K-Hg. It is difficult to estimate the magnitude of the systematic errors in the absolute differential cross sections. However, reliable values for relative differential cross sections, which are velocity independent, can readilymore » be obtained by the methods described. From the low angle behavior of the differential cross sections, direct experimental evidence for the inverse sixth power dependence of the long-range attractive part of the potential was obtained. (auth)« less
•Jun 1, 1962•0 citations