A computational analysis of low-energy electron scattering from gaseous cyclopropane

Absolute elastic cross sections, integral and differential, are computed for electron-cyclopropane collisions at energies from 1.0 up to 15.0 eV, spanning the region where possible shape resonance structures were detected by earlier experiments and calculations. The present results confirm the above findings and locate a resonance of A2' symmetry around 6.0 eV and a broader, weaker resonance of A2'' symmetry around 8 eV. The calculations are further shown to be in good agreement with the existing measurements of the angular distributions of the scattered electrons at energies from 2.0 up to 10.0 eV. The presently computed cross sections also agree with earlier R-matrix calculations (Beyer T, Nestmann B M, Sarpal B K and Peyerimhoff S D 1997 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 30 3431) and with the available integral cross section measurements. A model local exchange potential of very simple usage is shown to provide quite good accord with the exact calculations at the static-exchange level. (author)