Ab initio cross sections for the excitation of the b 3Σsub(u)sup(+) state of H2 by electron impact in the distorted-wave approximation

The authors present differential cross sections for the x 1Σg → b 3Σu transition in H2 at 15 eV incident electron energy. The cross sections are computed in the distorted-wave approximations, using the random-phase approximation for the electronic transition density and a discrete basis set technique for obtaining the distorted waves. The cross sections are found to be in good agreement with experimental data.