DIRECT NUMERICAL APPROACH TO ELECTRON-HYDROGEN SCATTERING

A direct numerical approach to the solution of the Schrodinger equation in configuration space for electron-hydrogen scattering was developed. For a given total angular momentum and spin, we obtained a set of coupled partial differential equations in two radial coordinates which we solved by a propagation method subject to boundary conditions imposed by symmetry. The full interaction potential was considered and terms up to l = 3 in the individual-particle angular momenta were included. The scattering information was extracted by matching the propagating solution to functions of the required asymptotic form, which may be of either S-matrix or K-matrix type. The effectiveness and accuracy of this approach were demonstrated through calculations of electron-hydrogen scattering for total angular momentum L = 0 and incident energies below the n = 3 threshold. Comparisons with close-coupling methods and other direct numerical methods in this energy range are given.