The Hidden Ramsauer-Townsend Effect in Positron Scattering by Rare Gas Atoms

The aim of this work is to present and discuss the Ramsauer-Townsend effect in the context of low-energy positron scattering by rare gas atoms. Opposed to what happens in electron-atom scattering, the competition between the static repulsive and polarization attractive potentials makes the phenomenon improbable in positron case. Nonetheless, we show using a semiempirical potential formulation that, while the effect is explicitly observed in the total cross sections for He and Ne, for the heavier noble gases it becomes “hidden” or implicit. We show that as the atomic polarizability increases, the suppression of s-wave goes to higher energies due to the variation of the scattering length with the polarizability. No specific signature for the effect is found in the shape of the differential cross sections but curiously, while the effect is implicit in the total cross section for Ar, it generates a minimum structure in the momentum transfer cross section. The theme is presented for non-specialist audience with emphasis in basic atomic and scattering theories along with practical results, the main objective being to boost the traditional discussions with a new view on the subject.