TOTAL CROSS-SECTIONS FOR ELECTRON-SCATTERING FROM IRON AT 10-5000 EV USING A MODEL OPTICAL-POTENTIAL

We report calculations on the total (elastic plus inelastic) electron- scattering cross sections in the energy range 10-5000 eV. A model comp lex optical potential, composed of static, exchange, polarisation and absorption terms, is employed to describe the collision system at each electron energy. The Iron atom is described by Dirac-Hartree-Fock-Sla ter self-consistent charge density. The complex phase shifts are compu ted in a variable phase approach. The absorption cross sections are co mpared with the experimental results. The experimental absorption cros s sections are obtained by adding the experimental ionisation cross se ctions and available experimental excitation cross sections for electr on impact of the allowed transitions a 5D-->(x, y, z)5D0, (w, y, z)5P0 . We have good qualitative agreement between our results and the exper imental results available below 200 eV. The Born-Bethe parameters are also calculated. Elastic differential cross-sections with and without absorption are also reported at a few selected energies.