Electron-Impact Cross Sections for Dipole- and Spin-Allowed Excitations of Hydrogen, Helium, and Lithium

Electron-impact excitation cross sections are presented for the dipole- and spin allowed transitions from the ground states to the np (2)P states for hydrogen and lithium, and to the 1snp (1)P states for helium, n = 2 through 10. Two scaling formulas developed earlier by Kim [Phys. Rev. A 64, 032713 (2001)] for plane-wave Born cross sections are used. The scaled Born cross sections are in excellent agreement with available theoretical and experimental data.