Using a crossed electron-molecular beam experiment, featuring a skimmed nozzle beam with pyrolytic radical production, absolute elastic cross sections for electron scattering from the ${\mathrm{CF}}_2$ molecule have been measured. A new technique for placing measured cross sections on an absolute scale is used for molecular beams produced as skimmed supersonic jets. Absolute differential cross sections for ${\mathrm{CF}}_2$ are reported for incident electron energies of 30–50 eV and over an angular range of 20–135 deg. Integral cross sections are subsequently derived from those data. The present data are compared to new theoretical predictions for the differential and integral scattering cross sections, as calculated with the Schwinger multichannel variational method using the static-exchange and static-exchange plus polarization approximations.

• Received 20 November 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.063202