Free electrons: fundamental interactions, applications and data needs

In spite of the important recent advances in the field of low-energy electron interactions with atoms and molecules, there still exist fundamental needs and challenges, some of which are generic in their basic and applied significance. These include measurements of cross sections for a number of fundamental low-energy electron–ground-state molecule interaction processes such as vibrational excitation (direct and indirect) and dissociation into neutral fragments, studies of low-energy electron–excited molecule interactions, investigations of low-energy electron interactions with radicals and transient species, and measurements of electron energy losses in electron–molecule collision processes. They also include studies for linking of knowledge on isolated electron–molecule interactions to that in the condensed phases of matter, and the systematic and quantitative exploration of the interactions of low-energy electrons with molecular and macromolecular biological structures.