Abstract
For the scattering of atomic alkali beams by mercury atoms the angular distribution of the scattered intensity at small angles has been investigated. The results confirm earlier theoretical estimations, by which the total collision cross-section and the differential cross-section at small angles for the colliding particles used in these experiments should be almost entirely determined by the van der Waals forces.
The measured angular distribution can be calculated down to angles of a few minutes of arc by means of classical mechanics. For deviations at smaller angles a quantum mechanical approximation can be given.
Moreover the results allow the determination of the total collision cross-section as a function of the angular resolution of the apparatus. Hereby information can be obtained about the critical angle, smaller which the angular resolution in an atomic beam experiment has to be in order to measure the right value of the total cross-section.
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Ich danke Herrn Prof. Dr. R.Jaeckel fÜr die Anregung zu dieser Arbeit und ihre gro\zÜgige Förderung. Der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft sei fÜr finanzielle UnterstÜtzung gedankt.
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Pauly, H. Die Kleinwinkelstreuung bei Stö\en zwischen neutralen Atomen. Z. Physik 157, 54–64 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01375149
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01375149