Near-threshold photodetachment of heavy alkali-metal anions

Abstract

We calculate near-threshold photodetachment cross sections for Rb{sup -}, Cs{sup -}, and Fr{sup -} using the Pauli equation method with a model potential describing the effective electron-atom interaction. Parameters of the model potential are fitted to reproduce ab initio scattering phase shifts obtained from Dirac R-matrix calculations. Special care is taken to formulate the boundary conditions near the atomic nucleus for solving the Pauli equation, based on the analytic solution of the Dirac equation for a Coulomb potential. We find a {sup 3}P{sub 1}{sup o} resonance contribution to the photodetachment cross section of Rb{sup -}, Cs{sup -}, and Fr{sup -} ions. Our calculated total photodetachment cross sections for Cs agree with experiments after tuning the resonance position by 2.4 meV. For Rb{sup -} and Fr{sup -} the resonance contribution is much smaller than for Cs. We therefore also provide angle-differential cross sections and asymmetry parameters which are much more sensitive to the resonant contribution than total cross sections.