LASER-ASSISTED ELECTRON-ATOM COLLISIONS

New insights into our understanding of the fundamental electron-atom c ollision process have been made possible by combining the use of highl y monochromatic electron beams and intense laser radiation. This paper reviews recent experimental effort in laser-assisted electron scatter ing with particular emphasis upon free-free (inverse bremsstrahlung) c ollisions. The excitation of an atom by simultaneous absorption of pho ton(s) and kinetic energy from the incident electron, the so-called SE PE process, is also discussed. The role of resonance formation in such collision cross sections is shown to be of major importance and revea ls new information on the dynamics of the collision process. Modem the oretical treatments of such laser-assisted collisions are examined and shown to be only partially successful in explaining modem experimenta l results. The need for more rigorous theoretical calculations is clea rly shown.