LOW-ENERGY-ELECTRON COLLISIONS WITH SODIUM - SCATTERING OF SPIN-POLARIZED ELECTRONS

The electron-sodium system is a prototype of nonrelativistic electron scattering from a quasi-one-electron atomic target and is tractable bo th experimentally and theoretically. Recently, this system has been st udied in a series of sophisticated measurements that together approach complete experiments for elastic (3s --> 3s) and inelastic (3s --> 3p ) scattering. We apply here the theory of orientation and alignment (O A) in atomic collisions to this system using scattering matrices from coupled channel R-matrix calculations described in the first paper in this series [W. K. Trail et al., Phys. Rev. 49, 3620(1994)]. To facili tate the extension of OA theory to other transitions and systems and t o clarify its relationship to canonical scattering theory, we present a reformulation in terms of the state spaces identified by a particula r scattering event. Following the application of this formulation to p aradigmatic OA experiments, we compare our results to those from exist ing measurements and other theoretical calculations. To contex-tualize these experiments and aid in identifying promising regions for future measurements, we also present a comprehensive three-dimensional overv iew of the calculated differential OA parameters for energies from thr eshold to 8.6 eV.