RUI: Low Energy Electron Scattering from Fundamental Molecular and Atomic Targets

该项目涉及与理论物理学家合作进行的研究低能电子如何与原子或分子气体碰撞的实验。这些研究将有助于阐明碰撞的基本物理学，并在臭氧化学、燃烧、微电子工业和天体物理学（通过观察电子与空间原子和分子碰撞时发出的光）中得到应用。该项目主要涉及来自西班牙裔和其他少数民族学生占主导地位的地区的代表性不足的群体的本科生和高中生。指导学生学习动手广泛的实验科学实验室技能，并继续深造硕士或博士学位。在过去的26年里，该项目涉及约120名本科生。在2005年，PI被授予著名的国家优秀研究奖在本科院校“他在电子原子碰撞，提供了原子理论的重要测试和他的精力充沛，持续指导学生在他的研究中具有挑战性和复杂的实验。“该项目的重点是获得基本原子和分子气体目标的电子散射的散射截面，弹性电子散射以及这些目标在非常低的能量（约1 eV至100 eV）下的激发和电离，包括远高于这些目标电离能的能量。最近，为了补充他们的差分角，高分辨率，低能静电电子光谱仪，实验室（PI和本科生）设计并建造了一个差分角飞行时间电子光谱仪，这是唯一适合于研究非常低的能量电子碰撞。这是目前世界上唯一存在的系统。在2018-2019年，它提供了分子氢的基准碰撞数据，以测试科廷大学和洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室的理论工作。这两台实验室光谱仪将继续用于研究其他基本目标，如一氧化碳和水。PI与电子散射理论建模的领先团队合作，例如美国洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室，美国爱荷华州德雷克大学，澳大利亚科廷大学，布拉格查尔斯大学，英国伦敦大学学院以及巴西的几个理论和实验团队，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

The project involves experiments to study how low energy electrons collide with atomic or molecular gases, undertaken in collaboration with theoretical physicists. The studies will help elucidate the basic physics of collisions as well as have applications in ozone chemistry, combustion, the microelectronics industry, and astrophysics (from observations of light emitted in electron collisions with atoms and molecules in space). The project heavily involves undergraduate and high school students from underrepresented groups in a region of the country which has predominantly Hispanic and other minority students. The students are mentored to learn hands-on broad experimental science laboratory skills and go on to further education towards a Masters or PhD. In the past 26 years, the project has involved about 120 undergraduate students. In 2005, the PI was given a prestigious National Award for Outstanding Research in an Undergraduate Institution "For his challenging and sophisticated experiments in electron-atom collisions that have provided significant tests of atomic theory and for his energetic, sustained mentoring of students in his research."The focus of the project is to obtain scattering cross sections for electron scattering from fundamental atomic and molecular gaseous targets, for elastic electron scattering and for excitation and ionization of these targets at very low energies (around 1eV to 100eV), including energies well above the ionization energy of these targets. Recently, to complement their differential-angle, high-resolution, low energy electrostatic electron spectrometer, the laboratory (PI and undergraduate students) designed and built a differential-angle time-of flight electron spectrometer, which is uniquely suited to study very low energy electron collisions. This is presently the only system existing world-wide. In 2018-2019 it provided benchmark collision data for molecular hydrogen to test the theoretical work from Curtin University and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The two lab spectrometers continue to be deployed to study other fundamental targets such as carbon monoxide and water. The PI collaborates with leading groups in theoretical modeling of electron scattering, e.g. at Los Alamos National Laboratory in USA, Drake University in Iowa USA, Curtin University in Australia, Charles University in Prague, University College in London UK, and several theory and experimental groups in Brazil, Canada and India.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.