Spin-resolved elastic scattering of electrons from sodium

Abstract

Angle-resolved ratios of the separate triplet and singlet spin channel cross sections have been measured for elastic scattering of spin-polarized electrons from optically pumped spin-polarized sodium atoms. The triplet-to-singlet ratios are reported at incident energies of 4.1, 10.0, and 20.0 eV for scattering angles from 20° to 140. The data demonstrate that spin-exchange scattering plays an important role in the description of electron scattering from sodium at these energies. Comparisons are made with the results of several close-coupling theoretical calculations. © 1993 The American Physical Society.