Effects Of Molecular Vibration And Electron Correlation in the Quantum Theory of Dissociative Attachment and the Kinetic Theory of Electron Swarms

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

The goals of the project are to find an efficient method for calculating cross sections for dissociative attachment induced by electron impact on molecules and to develop a new kinetic theory for electron plasmas ("swarms") in molecular gases. Both projects seek to answer a common scientific question: what underlying physical mechanisms control the changes in the vibrational dynamics of a molecule that occur when an electron collides with the molecule? The research will investigate the applicability of density functional theory to low-energy collisions of electrons with molecules. The non-adiabatic R-matrix method will be used to treat the electron-nuclear dynamics. The project on kinetic theory of gases will try to resolve a long standing discrepancy between vibrational cross sections measured in beam experiments and those from swarm experiments.