Excitation of vibrational quanta in water by electron impact

A comprehensive study of absolute differential cross sections (DCSs) for electron impact excitation of the bending (010) and unresolved stretching (100 + 001) vibrational quanta of water (H 2 O) is reported. Eight incident electron energies ( E 0 ) in the range 6-20 eV were investigated, and the scattered electron angular range was 10°-135°. Integral cross sections (ICSs) were derived from the corresponding vibrational DCSs using a molecular phase shift analysis technique. The self-consistency of these vibrational ICSs was considered by summing them, at each E 0 , with available elastic and ionization ICS to provide estimates for the H 2 O grand total cross section (GTS), which could then be checked against the independent GTSs of Szmytkowski (1987 Chem. Phys. Lett. 136 363) and Sueoka et al ( 1986 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Phys. 19 L373 ). Good agreement was typically found.