Classical Calculation of Differential Cross Section for Scattering from a Coulomb Potential with Exponential Screening

The potential energy function considered is $V=\left(\frac{Z_1{Z}_2{e}^2}{r}\right)\exp (-\frac{r}{a})$, which approximately represents the potential between two atoms in collision taking into account the screening of the atomic electrons. Here the first factor is the Coulomb potential and the exponential factor contains a screening length $a$. It is shown first that a classical orbital calculation should give valid results under certain conditions in problems where ions with energies of many thousands of electron volts scatter from atoms. Calculated values of the impact parameters and differential cross sections are presented for all angles of scattering. These quantities are tabulated for a wide range of parameters corresponding to various degrees of screening.