Electron scattering from aminoacetonitrile: effects of polarisation-correlation and basis-set on cross section

Abstract

Aminoacetonitrile occupies a prime importance in the interface between astrochemistry and prebiotic chemistry. Its detection in the ISM establishes it as part of the organic inventory of star-forming regions, while its role as a glycine precursor highlights its significance for origins-of-life scenarios. In this work, electron scattering from aminoacetonitrile has been studied using the $R$-matrix method in the low-energy range from $\sim$0 to 10 eV. The calculations were carried out within the $C_{s}$ point group using static-exchange (SE), static-exchange plus polarisation (SEP), and configuration interaction (CI) models, with two basis sets (6-311G* and cc-pVTZ) to understand their dependence on cross section. Various scattering observables, such as differential elastic cross section, integral elastic, excitation, and momentum transfer cross sections, were examined. Since aminoacetonitrile is a prebiotically relevant molecule, these findings provide valuable insight into electron-driven processes in complex organic systems and form a theoretical foundation for future work on electron-induced reactivity in prebiotic and astrophysical environments.