Effect of core-valence electron correlation in low-energy electron scattering with Ca atoms

Jianmin Yuan1,2 and C. D. Lin2

1 Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506

2 Department of Applied Physics, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, People’s Republic of China

~Received 12 March 1998!


Abstract

R-matrix calculations have been carried out to investigate the effect of core-valence electron correlation on the scattering of electrons with Ca atoms at low energies. While the major feature of the d-wave shape resonance with a peak near 1.3 eV in the total cross section can be reproduced by including only the correlation among the valence electrons, we show that the existence of a low-energy peak near 0.15 eV, which has also been observed experimentally, can be obtained only if the correlations between the valence and core electrons are considered. This low-energy peak is shown not caused by a shape resonance, but rather due to the rapid decrease of the s- and p-wave phase shifts with collision energies. The present result also indirectly supports the previous conclusion that core-valence electron correlation is responsible for bringing the electron affinity of Ca2 from 72 to 15 meV, i.e., to a value which is much closer to the experiment.

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