Trends in inelastic form factors and born cross sections for N

Abstract

This paper considers nl-(n + 1)l' collisional transitions between adjacent highly excited levels, and as l' is varied, two distinct peaks are noted in both the inelastic form factor and the Born cross section for electron-atom collisions; these peaks merge into one peak at high l'. Attention is also given to neutral-neutral collisions, in which the cross sections for nl-(n + 1)l' transitions display an overall increase as l' is varied from 0 to (n'-1).