Electron impact triple differential cross sections of Xe atoms for coplanar to perpendicular plane single ionisation at 60 eV, 80 eV and 100 eV above ionization

Abstract

The evolution of the triple differential cross section (TDCS) for the electron impact ionization of xenon atoms is reported for the variation of momentum of the projectile electron from a coplanar geometry to a perpendicular plane through intermediate angles with the detection plane. The TDCSs have been calculated for the Xe atoms at 60 eV, 80 eV and 100 eV above the ionization potential (IP). We have calculated the TDCS using distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA), utilizing both the first and second Born terms. Effects of target polarization and post-collision interaction (PCI) have also been included in the complete description of the collision dynamics. The TDCS results are compared with recent measurements by Patel et al. [Physical Reviews A 105, 032818 (2022)] showing a dependence between the TDCS and the scattering geometry and kinematics of the collision. Second-order effects have been found significant, particularly in the description of perpendicular plane ionization at a low energy and the effect of target polarization has been found important in describing the coplanar ionization of the xenon target. With an overall good agreement with the recent measurements, there are points of disagreement which are the motivation for further theoretical effort in the near future, as the present attempt is the first of its kind to analyse these measurements.