Electron Scattering from H3+ and its Isotopologues in the Convergent Close-coupling Formalism

Abstract

The present thesis describes the generalisation of the molecular convergent close-coupling method to polyatomic targets such as the H3+ molecular ion in both the fixed-nuclei and adiabatic-nuclei formulations. The developed theoretical methods are applied to produce a complete set of cross sections for electron-impact excitation and ionisation of H3+. The results resolve a long-standing disagreement between theory and experiment and provide the first application of convergent close-coupling techniques to polyatomic targets.