Differential cross sections for electronic excitation of molecular hydrogen using the R-matrix method

Differential cross sections are calculated for electron-H2 collisions for scattering energies up to 20 eV. Elastic scattering and excitation from the ground, to the lowest six excited electronic states is explicitly considered for all total symmetries up to and including 2φg for a single fixed H2 geometry. The target states are represented using a full configuration interaction treatment within a basis of Slater-type orbitals optimized to give accurate vertical excitation energies. Results are presented for both resonant and non-resonant differential cross sections. (author)