Low-energy electron drift and scattering in krypton and xenon

Abstract

The drift velocity of electrons in Ar, Kr, and Xe has been measured at a gas temperature T=301 K using gas pressures of 300 and 600 kPa over the E/N range 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}20}$\ensuremath{\le}E/N\ensuremath{\le}3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}17}$ V ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. The measurements have been used to derive the low-energy momentum-transfer cross section ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{m}$(\ensuremath{\varepsilon}) in Kr and Xe at electron energies up to 8 eV using a Boltzmann-equation analysis along with a four-parameter modified-effective-range-theory procedure. Particular attention has been paid to the effects of impurities on the measured electron drift velocities and the uniqueness of the derived momentum-transfer cross sections. The present measurements and calculated cross sections are compared with published values from experiments and calculations.