Differential cross sections for secondary electron production by 1.5-keV electrons in water vapor

Discrepancies between previous experimental values of differential cross sections for electron-impact ionization of water vapor and recent model calculations have been largely resolved. A new measurement with improved suppression of spurious electrons has removed most of the discrepancy in the midrange of detected electron energies. A second discrepancy at secondary energies just below the primary energy has been explained by a more accurate accounting for electrons scattered at angles between zero and the minimum angle of the experimental apparatus. The improved data show more clearly the oxygen K-shell edge in the spectra at small angles and the Bethe ridge at angles up to 900. The forward peak seen in the earlier data is no longer present