view Abstract Citations (4) References (13) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Bremsstrahlung in the scattering of low-energy electrons by neutral atomic systems Gould, R. J. Abstract By elementary methods, the cross section for electron-atom and electron-molecule bremsstrahlung is computed in the limit when the incident electron energy is much less than Ry. The procedure employs the classical soft-photon emission probability formula for general (h/2pi)(omega), yielding a simple expression for the bremsstrahlung cross section in terms of the total elastic scattering cross section. The validity of the method is discussed, and results are compared with more elaborate and accurate calculations. Comparison is made with ('free-free') opacity calculations for the associated process at the temperature (6300 K) of the solar atmosphere. For chiomega = (h/2pi)(omega)/kT = 1, the computed absorption coefficient is within 2, 7, and 12 percent of accurate calculations for scatterings by H, He, and H2, respectively. The general dependence of the opacity on chiomega is described well by the simple formula, although the error is larger for higher chiomega; it is suggested that the inaccuracy at high frequencies is due to the failure of the soft-photon approximation. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: July 1985 DOI: 10.1086/163270 Bibcode: 1985ApJ...294...23G Keywords: Bremsstrahlung; Cool Stars; Electron Scattering; Solar Physics; Stellar Physics; Absorptivity; Electron Energy; Opacity; Quantum Mechanics; Scattering Cross Sections; Solar Atmosphere; Spectral Emission; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |