Calculated electron ionization cross sections of the alkali atoms and the hydrogen spin ionization asymmetry

This paper addresses two aspects of the electron-impact ionization of hydrogen and the alkali atoms Li, Na, K, and Cs. First, we show that the earlier observation that the detailed treatment of the 2 electrons in the final state of the hydrogen ionization process results in a cross section shape that is in excellent agreement with the cross section shape obtained from the semi-empirical Deutsch-Mark (DM) formalism can be extended to the "quasi one-electron" atoms Li, Na, K, and Cs. Second, we discuss specific aspects of the calculated hydrogen ionization spin asymmetry in light of some recent experimental observations.