Lyman-Alpha Emission Induced by the Collisions of Electrons with Molecular Hydrogen

Abstract
The ratio of electron‐impact cross sections of atomic and molecular hydrogen for production of uv radiation detected by an oxygen‐filtered iodine‐vapor‐filled photon counter has been precisely measured in a modulated beam experiment. Using a filter 1.67 cm long with an oxygen pressure of 1 atm, the ratio of cross sections at 100 eV was found to be 4.05 ± 0.07. Using the known cross section for production of Lyman‐alpha radiation from the hydrogen atom, the cross section for molecular radiation received by the detector was determined to be 1.48 (± 0.05) × 10−17 cm2.