A theoretical model, which is free of adjustable or fitted parameters, for calculating electronimpact ionization cross sections for atoms and molecules is presented. This model combines the binary-encounter theory with the dipole interaction of the Bethe theory for fast incident electrons. The ratios of the contributions from distant and close collisions and interference between the direct and exchange terms are determined by using the asymptotic behaviors predicted by the Bethe theory for ionization and for stopping cross sections. Our model prescribes procedures to calculate the singly differential cross section (energy distribution) for each subshell using the binding energy, average kinetic energy, and the differential dipole oscillator strengths for that subshell. Then the singly differential cross section is integrated over the ejected electron energy to obtain the total ionization cross section. The resulting total ionization cross section near the threshold is proportional to the excess energy of the projectile electron. We found that this model yields total ionization cross sections for a variety of atoms and molecules from threshold to several keV which are in good agreement (-10% or better on average) with known experimental results. The energy distributions also exhibit the expected shapes and magnitudes. We offer a simpler version of the model that can be used when differential oscillator strengths are not known. For the ionization of ions with an openshell configuration, we found that a minor modification of our theory greatly improves agreement with experiment. PACS number(s): 34.80. Dp, 34.80.Gs, 34.80.K~

Formulas for the total ionization cross section by electron impact based on the binary-encounter-dipole ͑BED͒ model and its simpler version, the binary-encounter-Bethe ͑BEB͒ model are extended to relativistic incident electron energies. Total ionization cross sections for the hydrogen and helium atoms from the new relativistic formulas are compared to experimental data. Relativistic effects double the total ionization cross section of H and He at incident electron energy Ϸ300 keV and dominate the cross section thereafter. A simple modification of the original BED-BEB formulas is proposed for applications to ion targets and inner-shell electrons of neutral atoms and molecules. The relativistic and nonrelativistic BEB cross sections are compared to the K-shell ionization cross sections by electron impact for the carbon, argon, nickel, niobium, and silver atoms. For carbon and argon, the relativistic effects are small, and both forms of the BEB cross sections agree well with available experimental data. For the nickel and heavier atoms, the relativistic increase of cross sections becomes noticeable from about 100 keV and higher in the incident electron energy. The empirical formula by Casnati et al. ͓J. Phys. B 15, 155 ͑1982͔͒ after correcting for relativistic effects as shown by Quarles ͓Phys. Rev. A 13, 1278 ͑1976͔͒ agrees well with the BEB cross sections for light atoms. However, the peak values of the Casnati cross sections become higher than the relativistic BEB peak cross sections as the atomic number increases. The BEB model is also applied to the total ionization cross section of the xenon atom, and the theory agrees well with experiments at low incident electron energies, but disagrees with experiment at relativistic incident energies.

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We demonstrate a Mueller polarimeter in which the polarization-state generator and analyzer are both composed of a linear polarizer and two liquid-crystal variable retarders. The polarimeter is designed to optimize the accuracy of the final results by minimization of the condition numbers of the modulation and analysis matrices. The polarimeter calibration, a difficult task by conventional procedures, is achieved easily by use of the eigenvalue method of Compain et al. [Appl. Opt. 38, 3490 (1999)]. The overall polarimeter performance is tested with a linear polarizer at various angles and a compensator at various retardations.

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We have determined the electronic energy level alignment at the interface between 4,4′-bis(N-phenyl-1-naphthylamino)biphenyl (NPB) and 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile (HAT-CN) using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of 20 nm thick HAT-CN film was located at 3.8 eV below the Fermi level. Thus the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is very close to the Fermi level. The HOMO position of NPB was only about 0.3 eV below Fermi level at NPB/HAT-CN interface. This enables an easy excitation of electrons from the NPB HOMO to the HAT-CN LUMO, creating electron-hole pairs across this organic-organic interface.

The DeltaSUV(max) is a potential predictor for activity of pulmonary tuberculoma. However, the diagnostic performances were similar between visual and quantitative analyses. The visual assessment may be sufficient for determination of pulmonary tuberculoma activity. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and improve statistical accuracy.