An explanation of discrepancies between predictions of the Kroll-Watson theory and cross sections measured in the Wallbank-Holmes experiments on electron-atom scattering in the presence of a powerful lowfrequency laser field is presented. Our model calculations for helium and argon as target atoms come out to be in good agreement with experimental results; i.e., obtained cross sections are by many orders of magnitude larger than those predicted by the Kroll-Watson theory. A mechanism responsible for such a substantial increase of the calculated cross sections is found to be due to the diffraction scattering of electrons by atomic obstacles. ͓S1050-2947͑97͒50912-7͔ PACS number͑s͒: 34.50.Rk, 32.80.Ϫt, 03.65.Nk RAPID COMMUNICATIONS R4396 56 A. JAROŃ AND J. Z. KAMIŃ SKI
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.