Abstract
Polarized electrons have been scattered superelastically from laser-excited unpolarized sodium atoms (deexcitation of the 32 P 1/2 or 32 P 3/2 states). The left-right scattering asymmetry, which results from an interplay of the atomic charge cloud orientation, atomic fine-structure interaction and exchange processes, has been measured for energies between 6 and 20 eV and scattering angles ranging from 40 to 120°. Within the experimental uncertainty the Percival-Seaton hypothesis, which is the basis of current theoretical calculations for electron-sodium collisions, has been confirmed. However, the quantitative agreement between experimental and numerical results is satisfactory only for a 2-state close-coupling calculation of Moores.
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This article is dedicated to Prof. Dr. J. Kessler on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday
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Nickich, V., Hegemann, T., Bartsch, M. et al. Left-right asymmetry in superelastic collisions of polarized electrons with unpolarized laser-excited sodium atoms. Z Phys D - Atoms, Molecules and Clusters 16, 261–269 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01437529
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01437529