The electron-Na system is the prototype for nonrelativistic scattering of a charged particle from a quasi-one-electron system. At scattering energies below several eV, e-Na cross sections are particularly sensitive to the exchange interaction and manifest a rich variety of near-threshold structures in various spin channels. By applying the nonperturbative coupled-channel R-matrix method in carefully converged calculations we have generated a comprehensive data base of accurate scattering quantities for studying these phenomena and for comparison to present and future experimental data. In particular, we examine elastic scattering and excitation of the 3p, 4s, 3d, and 4p excited states at energies from threshold to 8.6 eV. In addition to conventional integrated and differential cross sections, we consider partial cross sections for changes in the projection of the spin and orbital angular momentum of the Na valence electron, comparing results for all these quantities to experimental data where available.

• Received 16 September 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.49.3620