Low energy (e, 2e) differential cross-section measurements on the 1πg and 4σg molecular orbitals of CO2

Ionization differential cross sections are presented for low energy electron scattering from the 1πg and 4σg orbitals of the tri-atomic molecule CO2, at incident electron energies ranging from 10 eV to 80 eV above the ionization threshold. The (e, 2e) experiments were conducted in a coplanar symmetric geometry, the outgoing electrons sharing the excess energy from the interaction equally. The results are compared to experiments previously conducted in the same geometry and over the same energy range from the 1πu and 3σg orbitals of N2. An unusual feature has been discovered ionizing from the 1πg orbital at a scattered and ejected electron energy of 10 eV, where a second forward scattering peak is found at low angles. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.