Low-energy positron-nitrogen-molecule scattering: A rovibrational close-coupling study.

We study the positron-nitrogen-molecule scattering process under the rovibrational coupling method to include the effect of rotational and vibrational motion of the nuclei dynamically during the scattering process. Here we compute the angle integrated elastic and (state-to-state) rotational excitation, elastic and (state-to-state) vibrational (summed over rotational) excitation, and total (summed over rotational and vibrational) cross sections for the incident positron energy between 0.0 and 10 eV. However, in present paper we concentrate our discussion on the results in the lower-energy region, especially below 3.0 eV. To calculate the cross sections we use the model correlation polarization potential to include the distortion effect of the target electronic state in the presence of the positron. The calculated total cross sections are compared with the theoretical calculations and experimental results. The present theoretical results agree quite well with the recent theoretical and measured values. The vibrational and rotational elastic and excitation cross sections are also compared with the existing theoretical results. The state-to-state potential coupling and dynamical coupling effects on different cross sections are studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]