Differential studies and projectile charge effects in ionization of molecular nitrogen by positron and electron impact

Singly, doubly, and triply differential information, obtained from coincidence measurements, are presented for 250-eV positron- and electron-impact ionization of molecular nitrogen. Comparisons of these data as functions of energy loss, scattering, and emission angles illustrate differences associated with the sign of the projectile charge. Via a deconvolution and normalization procedure, the triply differential data are converted to absolute cross sections. By fitting the triply differential cross sections for single ionization with simple functions, the intensities, directions, and peak to background intensities of the binary peaks plus the ratio of recoil to binary interactions are compared for positron and electron impact. Formulas for the binary and recoil intensities plus for the orientation of the binary peak as a function of momentum transfer are extracted from the data. Differences in the relative amount of fragmentation as a function of energy loss are also observed.