Statistical fluctuations of the ionisation yield of low-energy electrons in He, Ne and Ar

Using the Monte-Carlo method the statistical fluctuations of the ionisation yield produced during the degradation of low-energy electrons in the three noble gases He, Ne and Ar were studied. To do this, the probability P(T0,j) for exact j ionisations generated upon the complete slowing down of electrons of initial energy T0 was calculated in the energy range 20 eV <= T0 <= 5 keV. The probability distributions in the number of ionisations produced were then used to determine moments Msub(ν) and central moments msub(ν) up to the order ν = 5. (author)