A Correlation Potential Method for Electron Scattering Total CrossSection Calculations on Several Diatomic and Polyatomic Molecules over Energy Range 10∼5000 eV

Abstract

A complex optical model potential correlated by the concept of bonded atom, which considers the overlapping effect of electron clouds between two atoms in a molecule, is firstly employed to calculate the total cross sections for electron scattering on several molecules (NH3, H2O, CH4, CO, N2, O2, andC2H4) over the energy range 10∼5000 eV using the additivity rule model at Hartree–Fock level. The difference between the bonded atom and the free one in states is that the overlapping effect of electron clouds of bonded atoms in a molecule is considered. The quantitative total cross sections are compared with the experimental data and with the other calculations wherever available and good agreement is obtained over the energyrange 10∼5000 eV. It is shown that the correlated calculations are much closer to the available experimental data than the uncorrelated ones at lower energies, especially below 500 eV. Therefore, considering the overlapping effect of electron clouds in the complex optical model potential could be helpful for the better accuracy of the total cross section calculations of electron scattering from molecules.