Transfer of angular momentum in electron collisions with alkali atoms

Measurements of the transfer of angular momentum to rubidium and sodium atoms in collisions with electrons are reported. For excitation of the rubidium 5(2)S(1/2)-5(2)P(3/2) transition, it is found that existing first order distorted wave Born approximation calculations show poor agreement with the data and that a model which includes the relativistic interaction between the electrons and the atoms in the potential is needed. For the de-excitation of the sodium (4)2S(1/2)-3(2)P(3/2) transition, a long standing proposal relating to the sign of the transferred angular momentum is not supported except at small scattering angles. A convergent close coupling calculation displays excellent agreement with the measured data.