Study of critical points and spin polarization in elastic scattering of electrons by Ne and Ar atoms

The effect of exchange and absorption on the critical points has been investigated for elastic scattering of electrons by Ne and Ar atoms. It has been found that the exchange reduces the critical energy, whereas the absorption enhances it. The present values of critical points for Ne and Ar agree fairly well with the available data and the other theoretical values. These points are also known to correspond to the maximum polarization of the spin of the scattered electron during elastic scattering. However in the present study it has been found that the point of maximum spin polarization is slightly shifted from the critical points. (author)