Nuclear excitation cross section of $^{229}$Th via inelastic electron scattering

TL;DR

This paper calculates the nuclear excitation cross section of $^{229}$Th via inelastic electron scattering, revealing high efficiency at low energies and analyzing key factors influencing the process.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed calculation of $^{229}$Th excitation cross sections using Dirac distorted wave Born approximation at low electron energies.

Findings

Excitation cross sections are on the order of 10$^{-27}$ to 10$^{-26}$ cm$^2$ at energies below 100 eV.

Inelastic scattering is highly efficient for isomeric excitation at low energies.

Systematic analysis of factors affecting the cross section, including ion-core potential and relativistic effects.

Abstract

Nuclear excitation cross section of $^{229}$Th from the ground state to the low-lying isomeric state via inelastic electron scattering is calculated, on the level of Dirac distorted wave Born approximation. With electron energies below 100 eV, inelastic scattering is very efficient in the isomeric excitation, yielding excitation cross sections on the order of 10$^{-27}$ to 10$^{-26}$ cm$^2$. Systematic analyses are presented on elements affecting the excitation cross section, including the ion-core potential, the relativistic effect, the knowledge of the reduced nuclear transition probabilities, etc.