Comparison of positron-impact vibrational excitation cross sections with the Born-dipole model

The development of cold trap-based positron beams and new scattering techniques has recently enabled the first measurements of state-resolved positron-impact vibrational excitation cross sections. These measurements revealed a number of features worth further consideration, such as relatively sharp increases near threshold. This paper describes a comparison of the magnitudes and shapes of these cross sections with the predictions of the Born-dipole model. Agreement of the magnitudes of the cross sections varies widely, ranging from reasonable to excellent agreement for CO2 and CF4 to poor agreement for CO and CH4. In contrast, the energy dependence of these cross sections in all these cases is close to that predicted by the Born model.