Electron excitation of alkali atoms

The development and testing of a synthesized close-coupling effective model potential ten-channel electron-atom scattering code and some preliminary calculations of resonances in cross sections for the excitation of excited states of potassium by low energy electrons are described. The main results obtained are: identification of 1S and 1D structures in excitation cross sections below the 52S threshold of neutral potassium; indications of additional structures - 1P and 1D between the 52S and 52D thresholds; and a suggested explanation of anomalously high interstate-electron impact excitation cross sections inferred from experiments on potassium-seeded plasmas. The effective potential model imbedded in the code can be used to simulate any atomic system that can be approximated by a single bound electron outside an ionic core. All that is needed is a set of effective potential parameters--experimental or theoretical. With minor modifications the code could be adapted to calculations of electron scattering by two-electron systems