We present a simple direct method for calculating Regge trajectories for a multichannel scattering problem. The approach is applied to the case of two coupled Thomas-Fermi type potentials, used as a crude model for electron-atom scattering below the
second excitation threshold. It is shown that non-adiabatic interaction may cause formation of loops in Regge trajectories. The accuracy of the method is tested by evaluating resonance contributions to elastic and inelastic integral cross sections.
Low-energy E < 2 eV electron elastic collisions with Ge, Sn and Pb atoms yield stable excited Ge-, Sn- and Pb- anions. The recent Regge-pole methodology is used with Thomas-Fermi type potential incorporating the crucial core-polarization interaction
to calculate elastic total and Mulholland partial cross sections. For excited Ge- and Sn- anions the extracted binding energies from the unique characteristic sharp Regge resonances manifesting stable excited states formed during the collisions agree excellently with experimental values; for Pb- the prediction requires experimental verification. The calculated differential cross sections also yield the binding energies.
A novel method is proposed that uses very slow electron elastic collisions with atoms to identify their presence through the observation of tenuously bound (electron impact energy, E<0.1 eV) and weakly bound (E<1 eV) negative ions, formed as Regge resonances during the collisions.
