Abstraction and insertion mechanisms in reactive collisions of H $_\mathsf{2}^\mathsf{ + }$ and D $_\mathsf{2}^\mathsf{ + }$ with O $^\mathsf{-}$

Authors: Staicu-Casagrande, E.¹; Nzeyimana, T.¹; Naji, E.¹; Ruette, N.¹; Fabre, B.¹; Padellec, A.²; Urbain, X.³

Source: The European Physical Journal D - Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Volume 31, Number 3, December 2004 , pp. 469-475(7)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Integral cross-sections were measured for the associative ionisation and reactive ionisation in collisions of H₂ ⁺ and D₂ ⁺ with O^- by means of a merged-beam set-up operating with keV beams. The magnitude of the reactive cross-sections is quite large (10^-14 cm² at 10 meV), and surpasses the associative ionisation by an order of magnitude. The observed ratio is discussed in terms of insertion and abstraction mechanisms that prevail in the case of atom-diatom inelastic collisions. These measurements may be relevant to the understanding of some astrophysical objects such as the comets, where the presence of the water cation was highlighted.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2004-00180-5

Affiliations: 1: Unité FYAM, Département de Physique, Université Catholique de Louvain, Chemin du cyclotron 2, 1348, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, 2: LCAR UMR 5589, Université Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III, 118 route de Narbonne, bâtiment IIIR1b4, 31062, Toulouse Cedex 4, France, 3: Unité FYAM, Département de Physique, Université Catholique de Louvain, Chemin du cyclotron 2, 1348, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, Email: urbain@fyam.ucl.ac.be

Publication date: 2004-12-01