Accurate ab initio calculation on the low-energy elastic scattering of electrons from helium.

Abstract

The multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock method developed by Saha [Phys. Rev. A 39, 5048 (1989)] to study scattering of electrons from atoms has been applied to the low-energy elastic scattering of electrons from helium atoms. The short-range electron correlation and the long-range dynamical polarization of the target by the scattering electron, which are very important in these calculations, have been taken into account in an accurate ab initio manner through the configuration-interaction procedure. Detailed results for phase shifts, elastic differential, integral-elastic, and momentum-transfer cross sections for electrons elastically scattered from helium are reported for the low and intermediate energies ranging from 0.58 to 50 eV. The present results are compared with accurate experimental measurements and theoretical calculations. It is found that the present multiconfiguration self-consistent-field method produces high-quality results that show excellent agreement with experimental measurements and compare well with other accurate theoretical calculations.