IONIZATION OF HEAVY INERT-GASES BY SPIN-POLARIZED ELECTRONS

In the collision of a spin-polarized electron with an atom, if is only natural to assume that any observed difference between spin-up and sp in-down electrons must originate from spin-dependent forces in the int eraction. However, it has been known for sometime that, for inelastic electron-atom scattering, a non-zero spin asymmetry can result from th e coulomb interaction ignoring spin-dependent forces on the projectile , In this paper, it is demonstrated that the same type of effect may b e expected for ionization of the heavier inert gases. Theoretical resu lts are compared with recent unpublished experimental measurements.