Sodium excitation by spin-polarized electrons: A reanalysis of existing experiments

We generalize the existing description of collision-induced atomic S⇆P transitions by spin-polarized electrons on spin-polarized target atoms. Analysis of existing experimental and theoretical data on the 3s⇆3p transitions in Na determines how closely the ‘‘perfect scattering experiment’’ has been achieved to date. Using a newly developed inversion technique, we demonstrate to what extent the various scattering amplitudes can be extracted from present experiments, and how state-of-the-art theory can be used to remove the remaining ambiguities.