Elastic scattering of e± by Cd, Hg, and Pb atoms at 1 eV ≤ E ≤ 1 GeV

A review on recent calculations of the differential, integrated, and total cross sections along with the spin-polarization parameters for the elastic collisions of electrons and positrons with various atomic targets, ranging from medium heavy Cd with the atomic number Z = 54 to heavier Hg and Pb with Z ≥ 80, is presented for the projectile energy (Ei) range 1 eV ≤ Ei ≤ 1 GeV. Also are analyzed the critical minima (CMs) in differential cross sections, and the positions of maximum polarization points in the CM's proximity. For such a wider energy domain, these scattering observables are computed using the partial-wave decompositions of Dirac relativistic equation with two different complex optical potentials (OPs). The first model OPM incorporates interactions of the incident lepton with both the nucleus and the bound electrons of the target atom. The second approach, the nuclear structure approach (NSA), retains only the lepton–nucleus interaction and thus neglects the shielding effect of the target bound electrons. Detailed results for the cross sections and spin polarizations are presented for Cd, Hg, and Pb atoms. The comparison with the experimental and other theoretical results reveals reasonable agreements for the above mentioned range of projectile energies.