Electron scattering from atomic gallium

Theoretical study of electron scattering from the 4P_1/2 ground state of gallium atoms is reported. We have used relativistic convergent close-coupling method to obtain cross sections for elastic scattering and excitations of the 4P_3/2, 5S_1/2, 5P_1/2,3/2 and 4D_3/2,5,2 states for incident electron energies ranging from 0.1 to 500 eV. Comparison of our results with recent theoretical estimates that have been used in plasma modeling shows significant discrepancies for all considered transitions.