B-spline R-matrix-with-pseudostates calculations for electron-impact excitation and ionization of nitrogen

The B-spline R-matrix-with-pseudostates (BSR) method is employed to treat electron collisions with nitrogen atoms. Predictions for elastic scattering, excitation, and ionization are presented for all transitions between the lowest 21 states of nitrogen in the energy range from threshold to 120 eV. The structure description has been further improved compared to a previous BSR calculation by Tayal and Zatsarinny [J. Phys. B 38, 3631 (2005)]. This change in the structure model, together with the inclusion of a large number of pseudostates in the close-coupling expansion, has a major influence on the theoretical predictions, especially at intermediate energies, where many of the excitation cross sections are reduced significantly. Ionization cross sections for the ground and metastable initial states are also provided. Finally, we carry out an accurate ab initio treatment of the prominent shape resonance just above the elastic threshold.