Electron impact ionization of atomic hydrogen

The role of Coulomb-correlation in electron impact ionization of atomic hydrogen is investigated. Triple differential cross sections are calculated using the first order multiple scattering theory taking into account the propper asymptotic behaviour of the final state wavefunction. A semi-empirical procedure is outlined to choose the effective charges consistent with several physically required limits. A comparison with recent experimental data is made; the observed agreement strongly suggests the importance of asymptotic Coulomb-correlation in ionization even at high energies. The first order approximation used here for the hydrogen case is easily generalizable for ionization of several electron atoms at not too large scattering angles and not too low incident energies. (orig.)