Theoretical support for a Ramsauer-Townsend minimum in electron-CF₄ scattering

We describe complex Kohn calculations for elastic e^--CF₄ scattering at incident electron energies of 0.04–20 eV. An accurate representation of the electronic correlation effects involving target polarization is critical in the explicit demonstration of a Ramsauer-Townsend minimum. We use a set of polarized virtual orbitals to form a compact representation of closed channels in the trial scattering function to include these effects. These are the first ab initio calculations to verify the Ramsauer-Townsend minimum in CF₄. We find excellent comparison between the complex Kohn results and measured differential and integral cross sections.