Electron–H+3 collisions at intermediate energies

Abstract

A new procedure is presented for the ab initio study of electron–molecule collision at energies straddling the target ionization threshold. The R-matrix with pseudostates method, which allows for the inclusion of discretized continuum states in a close-coupling expansion, is adapted to molecular targets using even-tempered basis sets. Calculations for electron collisions with the H+3 molecular ion provide converged polarizabilities, electronic excitation and ionization cross sections.