Electronic State Excitations in the Water Molecule by Collisions with Low Energy Electrons

Author: Penny Anne Thorn

Thorn, Penny Anne, 2008 Electronic State Excitations in the Water Molecule by Collisions with Low Energy Electrons, Flinders University, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences

Terms of Use: This electronic version is (or will be) made publicly available by Flinders University in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. You may use this material for uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968. If you are the owner of any included third party copyright material and/or you believe that any material has been made available without permission of the copyright owner please contact copyright@flinders.edu.au with the details.

Abstract

The present study was largely concerned with measuring accurate absolute values for the electronic state excitation cross sections in H2O, in the incident electron energy range 15eV to 50eV. It is hoped that these data will eventually help to improve the current state of electron - molecule scattering theory, as well as being useful in various fields of modelling. As an illustration of this latter point, the cross sections determined here were used to calculate quantities of importance in atmospheric modelling, namely, electron energy transfer rates and rates for the excitation of water molecules by auroral secondary electrons.

Keywords: EELS,cross sections,H2O,water,ICS,DCS,electron scattering,electron energy transfer rates,excitation rates,Meinel bands

Subject: Physics thesis

Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2008
School: School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Supervisor: Associate Professor Michael Brunger