Electron impact excitation of resonance transitions in atomic potassium

Cross sections for electron impact excitation of the 4 s{sup 2}S - 4p {sup 2}P{sup o} and 4s {sup 2}S - 5p {sup 2}P{sup o} transitions in atomic potassium are calculated in the low-energy region from 1.5 to 30 eV using the R-matrix method. We included eight target states (4s {sup 2}S, 4p {sup 2}P{sup o}, 5s {sup 2}S, 3d {sup 2}D, 5p {sup 2}P{sup o}, 4d {sup 2}D, 6S {sup 2}S, and 4f {sup 2}F{sup o}) in the close-coupling expansion. These states are represented by extensive configuration- interaction wavefunctions constructed from the orthogonal one-electron orbitals: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 3d, 4s, 4p, 4d, 4f, 5s, 5p, and 6s. The calculated results are compared with the available experiments and other calculations. The present calculation shows a resonance structure in the cross section for the excitation of the resonance 4s {sup 2}S - 4p {sup 2}P{sup o} transition around 2.5 eV.