Projectile charge effects on the differential cross sections for the ionization of molecular nitrogen by positrons and electrons

Triple differential cross sections (TDCSs) are reported for the positron and electron impact ionization of molecular nitrogen at a projectile energy of 250 eV. The TDCSs are calculated in the distorted wave Born approximation formalism using the orientation-averaged molecular orbitals. The present attempt is helpful for analyzing recent measurements (de Lucio and DuBois 2016 Phys. Rev. A 93 032710) and studying the effect of projectile charge on the ionization of a molecular target. The TDCS trends are compared for positron and electron impact ionization in terms of binary and recoil intensities and binary lobe positions for different values of energy loss. The binary emission of electrons is enhanced for positron impact; however, nearly the same recoil emission is observed for positrons as well as electron impact. Significant discrepancies are observed in the measurements in terms of the relative binary intensity for positron and electron impact.