Theoretical calculations of electron-impact and radiative processes in atoms

Electron-impact and radiative processes in atoms are investigated with particular attention paid to the effects of electron correlations. Using the optical potential method, the cross section for the elastic scattering of electrons by the neutral argon atom is calculated from 0 to 300 eV. Corrections to the Hartree--Fock cross section are obtained from a many-particle perturbation expansion. The effects of electron correlations are found to be quite significant at low energy. The optical potential results are compared with a polarized orbital calculation, the Born approximation and experiment. The 2s and 2p excitation cross sections for electron scattering on hydrogen are calculated by two similar methods. The distorted wave method is applied and the effect of calculating the outgoing scattered electron in the potential of the initial or final state is investigated. The imaginary part of the optical potential is also calculated in lowest order by the use of many-body diagrams. The subshell photoionization cross sections in argon are calculated using the acceleration, length and velocity forms of the dipole operator. First order electron correlation corrections to the Hartree--Fock approximation are obtained through the use of many-body perturbation theory. Also investigated is the two photon ionization cross section for the neutral argon atom. A double perturbation expansion in the Coulomb correlations and the atom-radiation field interaction is made. Contributions from intermediate states are obtained by direct summation over Hartree--Fock bound and continuum single particle states. The effects of electron correlations and photon radiative corrections are investigated