THE ROLE OF RESONANT LASER-RADIATION IN COMPLETELY DETERMINING ELECTRON-ATOM COLLISION PARAMETERS

In this paper, the usefulness of employing narrow-bandwidth laser radi ation as a means of interrogating collisions between electrons and ato ms is discussed. The importance of the laser in this role is illustrat ed by two current methods, the stepwise electron and laser excitation coincidence method and the electron superelastic scattering method, wh ich allow a complete description of the collision process to be achiev ed except for an analysis of electron spin.