Elastic scattering of fast electrons by atoms. I. Helium to neon

Abstract

The total elastic scattering cross section for electrons on neutral atoms is evaluated in the first Born approximation via tabulated values of the form factors. The theoretical results are compared with experiment for helium, neon and lithium. For lithium, comparisons are also made with Glauber and polarized-Glauber models. A simple model is presented for low-energy total cross sections in lithium, and its predictions compared with experiment. Elastic differential cross sections for helium and neon are briefly discussed.