Formation of anions and cations via a binary-encounter process in OH+ + Ar collisions: The role of dissociative excitation and statistical aspects
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Molecular fragmentation leading to the formation of negatively and positively charged hydrogen ions in 7-keV ${OH}^{+}$ + Ar collisions is investigated experimentally. The most striking finding is that negative and positive hydrogen ions are emitted with very similar angular dependences. Also, the kinetic energy distribution of the ${H}^{+}$ fragment shows strong similarities with that of the ejected ${H}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ion. The kinematics of the emitted H core is found to be essentially driven by its scattering on the atomic target. However, in addition to this binary-encounter process, dissociative electronic excitation of the molecular projectile has to be invoked to explain the observed fragmentation patterns. Though the electron capture process is complex, it is shown that the relative population of the different final charge states of the outgoing fragments can be described by simple statistical laws.
Source: Physical Review A
Language: English
Topic: Atomic and Molecular Physics
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1968643147