Time-dependent close-coupling method for electron-impact ionization of hydrogen

Abstract

Electron-impact ionization of atomic hydrogen is studied by direct solution of a set of time-dependent close-coupled partial differential equations. The close-coupled equations describe the propagation of a time-evolving wave packet on a two-dimensional radial lattice. Following the collision, the wave packet is projected onto stationary states of the target to obtain probabilities for elastic and inelastic scattering processes. Ionization cross sections are calculated for various LS partial waves and compared with previous theoretical methods. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.