Analysis of scattering and excitation amplitudes in polarized-electron-atom collisions. II. Scattering on two-electron atoms

Abstract

A general analysis of polarization effects, resulting from exchange collisions between electrons and two-electron atoms, is given using density-matrix techniques. The formalism is presented in some detail. In particular, collisions on spin-1 atoms are discussed. General equations are derived which relate the quantities, characterizing the polarization state of the final beam, to their counterparts before scattering. Both sets of quantities are connected by functions of the scattering amplitudes. Thus, from these general equations we can read off what information can be extracted from experiments with particles in any given initial polarization state. Furthermore, some of the obtained expressions may be useful in discussions of other reactions, for example, processes in which spin-orbit and tensor interactions are important.