Argonne National Laboratory Reports

The problem of calculating comprehensive sets of cross sections for ionization of atoms and molecules is reviewed. Emphasis is put on targets that are already ionized and lower-energy collisions for which the incident electron must be treated on a par with target electrons. The physical circumstances are discussed in which perturbation methods should be adequate, and special investigations are recommended to identify the relevant ranges of parameters more precisely and dependably. A new R-matrix approach is outlined which should permit rather simple, approximate, but dependable calculations when the perturbation methods fail