The purpose of this Brief Report is to point out the mistake in a formula for anisotropic electron scattering, previously published in Phys. Rev. A 41, 1112 (1990), which is widely used in Monte Carlo models of gas discharges. Anisotropic electron scattering is investigated based on the screened Coulomb potential between electrons and neutral atoms. The approach is also applied for electron scattering by nonpolar neutral molecules. Differential cross sections for electron scattering by Ar, ${\mathrm{N}}_2,$ and ${\mathrm{CH}}_4$ are constructed on the basis of momentum and integrated cross sections. The formula derived in this paper is useful for Monte Carlo simulations of gas discharges.

• Received 22 June 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.65.037402