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Comparison Of Experimental And Theoretical Electron-Impact-Ionization Triple-Differential Cross Sections For Ethane, Esam Ali, Kate Nixon, Andrw Murray, Chuangang Ning, James Colgan, Don H. Madison

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We have recently examined electron-impact ionization of molecules that have one large atom at the center, surrounded by H nuclei (H₂O, NH₃, CH₄). All of these molecules have ten electrons; however, they vary in their molecular symmetry. We found that the triple-differential cross sections (TDCSs) for the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) were similar, as was the character of the HOMO orbitals which had a p-type "peanut" shape. In this work, we examine ethane (C₂H₆) which is a molecule that has two large atoms surrounded by H nuclei, so that …