INTRODUCTION OF THE POLARIZATION POTENTIAL INTO THE RADIAL EQUATIONS OF THE ATOMIC COLLISION THEORY

Calculation of the effective cross section of electrons colliding with atoms and ions requires the solution of an infinite system of multiconfigurational integral --differential equations. If the system is limited to 2 equations, it is possible to estimate the effect of the wave distortion caused by the field of the atom and to calculate the relation between the initial and the final levels. In order to increase the accuracy of the values, the polarization of the atom must be taken into account. In order to accomplish this, the system of radial equations was transformed into 1 or 2 equations, which also included the polarization potential. The radial functions are thus defined by 2 equations comprising a set of quantum numbers of the system which consists of the atom and the external electron. The polarization potentials were used primarily as a correction in the approximation but in some cases, better results were obtained by introducing the polarization potentials directly into the differential equations. The handling of elastic and inelastic scattering phenomena is illustrated by examples. (TTT)