A crossed beam experiment for the inelastic scattering of slow electrons by excited sodium atoms

Abstract

Superelastic and inelastic cross section measurements of electrons scattered by excited sodium atoms in the 32P3/2 state are reported. A crossed beam apparatus is used with a tunable CW dye laser beam intersecting the atom and electron beam in the scattering region. Details of the experimental method are described, allowing the extension to heavy particle excited atom scattering. The dependence of the superelastic cross section on the polarization of the incident light is investigated experimentally.