Electron collisions with NO: elastic scattering and rovibrational (0 to 1, 2, 3, 4) excitation cross sections

Abstract

The relative flow technique, utilizing helium as a cross section standard, has been applied to measure absolute elastic differential cross sections for electron scattering from nitric oxide (NO). The present elastic measurements were conducted at nine energies in the range 1.5-40 eV, which represents an important extension to the only previous study of this system by Kubo and co-workers (1981). Furthermore, the uncertainties in the present data are significantly reduced in comparison to those quoted in the earlier work. The current elastic differential cross sections were measured at the Australian National University over an angular range 10 degrees -130 degrees . We also report the first measurements of absolute differential cross sections for rovibrational (0 to 1, 2, 3, 4) excitation of the NO ground electronic state. These were conducted at six energies in the range 7.5-40 eV and were measured at Flinders University over the angular range 10 degrees -90 degrees . The differential cross sections for both the elastic and inelastic processes are compared with the results of the recent Born-closure Schwinger variational method calculation of Mu-Tao Lee and colleagues (1992).