Polarization of molecular lines by electron impact. United atom and Born approximations

An attempt is made to calculate the polarization of the light emitted by diatomic molecules excited by electron impact. The theory of Percival and Seaton is extended to molecules in two simple cases; the united atom approximation and the Born approximation. The effects of the fine ahd hyperfine structures, electron exchange, cascade decay, are expressed. No account is taken of the polarization of the molecule induced by the incident electron.