Relativistic treatment of scattering of electrons and positrons by mercury atoms

ABSTRACT

With a complex optical potential, $V\left(r\right)$, the Dirac relativistic equation is solved, employing the partial wave technique, to evaluate the differential, integrated, momentum transfer and viscosity cross-sections for the elastic scattering of $e^{\pm }$-Hg system over the incident energy range of 1.0 eV $\le E_i\le$ 10.0 keV. We also calculate the inelastic and grand total cross sections for this system over the same energy range. The real part of $V\left(r\right)$ includes the static, the exchange and the polarisation components while the imaginary component incorporates the absorption of particles into various inelastic channels. A detailed comparison of our results with experimental and other theoretical findings show a good overall agreement throughout the studied energy range, apart from some discrepancies at lower energies $<10$ eV.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Electron and positron scattering
• complex optical potential
• relativistic Dirac partial wave analysis

Acknowledgements

M. A. Uddin is thankful to Bangladesh UGC for appointing him as a UGC Professor, thus helping him in his research pursuits.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work has been partially supported by the TWAS-UNISCO associateship scheme, Faculty of Science project no-32/5/52/UGC/Science-9/2015-16, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh.