Interference patterns due to the coherent electron emission from the atomic centers of a $D_2$ molecule by fast electron impact are experimentally observed in doubly differential cross sections. This behavior is supported by theoretical predictions. Measurements are given for the impact of $2.4\mathrm{keV}$ electrons. The emitted electrons are detected in the energy range from $2\text{to}2000\mathrm{eV}$, at observation angles between 30° and 130°. In addition to the interference phenomenon in electron emission following soft collisions, it is shown that interference effects appear for ejected electron energies corresponding to the binary-encounter mechanism.

• Received 19 July 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.71.010702