Excitation of the a¹Π_g and B³Π_g electronic states of the nitrogen molecule by electron impact

Ab initio calculations were performed for the excitations of the a¹Π_g and B³Π_g electronic states of the N₂ molecule by impact of low-energy electrons. The scattering amplitudes were obtained by means of the Schwinger multichannel method within the scope of the minimal orbital basis for the single configuration interactions (MOB-SCI) approach. Through the use of the MOB-SCI strategy, we have investigated the coupling effects among ground state, first singlet, and first triplet excited states of the Π_g symmetry. Integral and differential cross sections are shown for impact energies from near threshold up to 30 eV. Present results are compared with SMC two-state calculations and also with available theoretical and experimental data. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006