PHYSICS OF LOW-ENERGY ELECTRON-MOLECULE COLLISIONS: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED AND THE UNINITIATED.

Abstract

The essential physical features of low-energy electron-molecule scattering are described in a qualitative fashion. The context for this discussion is provided by the frame-transformation picture, which entails a 'partitioning' of the quantum scattering problem according to the relative importance of various physical interactions. This picture is then used as the basis for a qualitative overview of several contemporary theoretical techniques for solving the quantum scattering problem that are based on eigenfunction expansions of the system wavefunction and for representing the electron-molecule interaction potential. Finally, progress in three specific problem areas of recent interest is surveyed. The emphasis throughout is on non-resonant elastic scattering and ro-vibrational excitation.