Electron impact excitation of the low-lying 3s[3/2]1 and 3s′[1/2]1 levels in neon for incident energies between 20 and 300 eV

Abstract

Absolute differential cross sections (DCSs) for electron impact of the two lower-lying 3s[3∕2]1 ((3)P0) and 3s(')[1∕2]1 ((1)P1) electronic states in neon (Ne) have been determined for eight incident electron energies in the range 20-300 eV. Comparisons between our results and previous measurements and calculations, where possible, are provided with best agreement being found with the recent large-scale B-spline R-matrix computations [O. Zatsarinny and K. Bartschat, Phys. Rev. A 86, 022717 (2012)]. Based on these DCSs at 100, 200, and 300 eV, a generalised oscillator strength analysis enabled us to determine estimates for the optical oscillator strengths of the 3s[3∕2]1 and 3s(')[1∕2]1 levels. In this case, excellent agreement was found with a range of independent experiments and calculations, giving us some confidence in the validity of our measurement and analysis procedures. Integral cross sections, derived from the present DCSs, were presented graphically and discussed elsewhere [M. Hoshino, H. Murai, H. Kato, Y. Itikawa, M. J. Brunger, and H. Tanaka, Chem. Phys. Lett. 585, 33 (2013)], but are tabulated here for completeness.