A dynamical (e,2e) investigation of the structurally related cyclic ethers tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydropyran, and 1,4-dioxane.

Triple differential cross section measurements for the electron-impact ionization of the highest occupied molecular orbitals of tetrahydropyran and 1,4-dioxane are presented. For each molecule, experimental measurements were performed using the (e,2e) technique in asymmetric coplanar kinematics with an incident electron energy of 250 eV and an ejected electron energy of 20 eV. With the scattered electrons being detected at -5°, the angular distributions of the ejected electrons in the binary and recoil regions were observed. These measurements are compared with calculations performed within the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. Here, reasonable agreement was observed between the theoretical model and the experimental measurements. These measurements are compared with results from a recent study on tetrahydrofuran [D. B. Jones, J. D. Builth-Williams, S. M. Bellm, L. Chiari, C. G. Ning, H. Chaluvadi, B. Lohmann, O. Ingolfsson, D. Madison, and M. J. Brunger, Chem. Phys. Lett. 572, 32 (2013)] in order to evaluate the influence of structure on the dynamics of the ionization process across this series of cyclic ethers.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of the triple differential cross section for electron impact ionization of pyrimidine molecules.

Cross-section data for electron impact induced ionization of bio-molecules are important for modelling the deposition of energy within a biological medium and for gaining knowledge of electron driven processes at the molecular level. Triply differential cross sections have been measured for the electron impact ionization of the outer valence 7b(2) and 10a(1) orbitals of pyrimidine, using the (e, 2e) technique. The measurements have been performed with coplanar asymmetric kinematics, at an incident electron energy of 250 eV and ejected electron energy of 20 eV, for scattered electron angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°. The ejected electron angular range encompasses both the binary and recoil peaks in the triple differential cross section. Corresponding theoretical calculations have been performed using the molecular 3-body distorted wave model and are in reasonably good agreement with the present experiment.

Differential cross sections for the electron impact excitation of pyrimidine.

We report on differential cross section (DCS) measurements for the electron-impact excitation of the electronic states of pyrimidine. The energy range of the present measurements was 15-50 eV with the angular range of the measurements being 10°-90°. All measured DCSs displayed forward-peaked angular distributions, consistent with the relatively large magnitudes for the dipole moment and dipole polarizability of pyrimidine. Excitations to triplet states were found to be particularly important in some energy loss features at the lower incident electron energies. To the best of our knowledge there are no other experimental data or theoretical computations against which we can compare the present results.

Dynamical (e,2e) studies of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol.

Cross section data for electron scattering from DNA are important for modelling radiation damage in biological systems. Triply differential cross sections for the electron impact ionization of the highest occupied outer valence orbital of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, which can be considered as an analogue to the deoxyribose backbone molecule in DNA, have been measured using the (e,2e) technique. The measurements have been performed with coplanar asymmetric kinematics at an incident electron energy of 250 eV, an ejected electron energy of 20 eV, and at scattered electron angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°. Experimental results are compared with corresponding theoretical calculations performed using the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. Some important differences are observed between the experiment and calculations.

Fully differential molecular-frame measurements for the electron-impact dissociative ionization of H2.

We present fully differential state-resolved experimental data for the dissociative ionization of molecular hydrogen induced through electron impact. Molecular-frame ionization cross sections are derived for transitions from the X{1}Sigma{g}{+} molecular ground state to the 1ssigma{g}, 2psigma{u}, 2ssigma{g}, and 2ppi{u} states of H2+. For transitions to the 2ssigma{g} and 2ppi{u} states, a strong orientation dependence in the cross sections is revealed, with "side-on" preferred to "end-on" collisions and a propensity for the fragment proton to emerge along the normal to the scattering plane.

Dynamical (e, 2e) studies using tetrahydrofuran as a DNA analog.

Triple differential cross sections for the electron-impact ionization of the outer valence orbital of tetrahydrofuran have been measured using the (e, 2e) technique. The measurements have been performed with coplanar asymmetric kinematics, at an incident electron energy of 250 eV and at an ejected electron energy of 10 eV, over a range of momentum transfers. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations carried out using the molecular three-body distorted wave model. The results obtained are important for gaining an understanding of electron driven processes at a molecular level and for modeling energy deposition in living tissue.

Invited article: an improved double-toroidal spectrometer for gas phase (e,2e) studies.

A new spectrometer is described for measuring the momentum distributions of scattered electrons arising from electron-atom and electron-molecule ionization experiments. It incorporates and builds on elements from a number of previous designs, namely, a source of polarized electrons and two high-efficiency electrostatic electron energy analyzers. The analyzers each comprise a seven-element retarding-electrostatic lens system, four toroidal-sector electrodes, and a fast position-and-time-sensitive two-dimensional delay-line detector. Results are presented for the electron-impact-induced ionization of helium and the elastic scattering of electrons from argon and helium which demonstrate that high levels of momentum resolution and data-collection efficiency are achieved. Problematic aspects regarding variations in collection efficiency over the accepted momentum phase space are addressed and a methodology for their correction presented. Principles behind the present design and previous designs for electrostatic analyzers based around electrodes of toroidal-sector geometry are discussed and a framework is provided for optimizing future devices.

Electron-impact ionization and excitation of helium to the n=1-4 ionic states.

We present high-precision (e,2e) measurements and calculations for the e-He four-body Coulomb breakup problem. Cross-section ratios for ionization and excitation of the first three excited states of He+ relative to the ground state have been measured for incident energies between 112 and 319 eV. Comparing the data with predictions from a state-of-the-art hybrid distorted-wave+convergent R matrix with pseudostates (close coupling) approach shows that treating the projectile-target interaction at least to second order is crucial to obtain reasonable agreement between theory and experiment. Nevertheless, our benchmark studies reveal significant theoretical problems for the symmetric energy-sharing cases, thus indicating the need for further improvement.