LXCat is an open‐access platform (http://www.lxcat.net) for curating data needed for modeling the electron and ion components of technological plasmas. The data types presently supported on LXCat are scattering cross sections and swarm/transport parameters, ion‐neutral interaction potentials, and optical oscillator strengths. Twenty‐four databases contributed by different groups around the world can be accessed on LXCat. New contributors are welcome; the database contributors retain ownership and are responsible for the contents and maintenance of the individual databases. This article summarizes the present status of the project.

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High-resolution measurements of positron interactions with Ne and Ar are presented, as well as theoretical treatments. The data extend over a range of 0.3 to 60 eV and comprise measurements of the grand total, positonium formation, and grand total minus positronium formation cross sections. Theoretical treatments of scattering from Ne and Ar are performed under the relativistic optical potential approach, as well as calculations using the convergent close-coupling method. Comparisons of the present measurements and theories are made with previous theoretical and experimental work.

The transport of excess electrons in liquid argon driven out of equilibrium by an applied electric field is revisited using a multi-term solution of Boltzmann's equation together with ab initio liquid phase cross-sections calculated using the Dirac-Fock scattering equations. The calculation of liquid phase cross-sections extends previous treatments to consider multipole polarisabilities and a non-local treatment of exchange, while the accuracy of the electron-argon potential is validated through comparison of the calculated gas phase cross-sections with experiment. The results presented highlight the inadequacy of local treatments of exchange that are commonly used in liquid and cluster phase cross-section calculations. The multi-term Boltzmann equation framework accounting for coherent scattering enables the inclusion of the full anisotropy in the differential cross-section arising from the interaction and the structure factor, without an a priori assumption of quasi-isotropy in the velocity distribution function. The model, which contains no free parameters and accounts for both coherent scattering and liquid phase screening effects, was found to reproduce well the experimental drift velocities and characteristic energies.

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We report on recent cross section results for positron scattering from molecular oxygen (O2). Total cross sections (TCSs) were measured with a positron spectrometer in the energy range from 0.1 to 50 eV and with an energy resolution of the positron beam of ∼0.25 eV. In addition, TCSs as well as elastic and inelastic integral cross sections were computed within the independent atom model and screening corrected additivity rule approach, with both dipole and dipole plus quadrupole polarization potentials, between 1 and 1000 eV impact energy. An overall fair level of accord is found between the experimental TCS and that calculated with the model that includes the quadrupole term. Comparison to earlier measurements shows very good agreement with the present measured TCS and fair agreement with the TCS computed with our most physical model above ∼8 eV. Conversely, we find only a marginal level of accord when comparing our experimental TCS with previous computations, while the present TCS calculated with the dipole plus quadrupole potentials appears to agree reasonably well with most of the existing theoretical results above ∼100 eV.