Electron Scattering from Pyrimidine up to 5 keV

Abstract

The work reports a comprehensive set of scattering cross sections data of pyrimidine due to electron impact in the energy range from 1 eV to 5 keV. The elastic cross sections are calculated using the single-centre-expansion formalism employing the local potentials. A modified binary-encounter-Bethe model is applied to compute the partial ionization cross sections of cations formed due to the dissociative ionization process. The method is highly simple and yet effective in yielding partial ionization cross sections for majority of cations formed during the dissociation ionization process. We could identify the erroneous partial ionization cross section data reported for cation corresponding to m/z = 28. The total cross sections in the energy range exceeding the ionization threshold are approximated by simply summing the integral elastic and the ionization cross sections. The scattering results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental and theoretical data. We also discuss the importance of the approaches adopted and their limitations. The work is important as the molecule interactions with ionizing radiation are a major cause of incurring damage to biomolecules. The studies are also relevant in areas where electron interactions with molecules are underlying phenomena like astrophysics and plasma physics.