Distorted wave calculations of vibrational excitation in CO2+He and CO2+Ar collisions

Cross sections for the vibrational excitation and relaxation of CO₂ through collisions with He and Ar atoms have been computed using several approximate methods. They all employ the infinite-order sudden approximation for the rotational motion. The vibrational motion is treated using both exact close-coupling and distorted wave techniques. The latter approximate method permits the extension of the calculation to much higher collision energies. The validity of the distorted wave approximation is examined and is shown to be particularly good for the dominant inelastic processes in He+CO₂, leading to errors of the order of 7%. These become progressively greater for smaller cross sections. The excitation cross sections are reported for several vibrational transitions over an extended energy range up to 1.36 eV.     

Resonances in collinear He + H2+ collisions

Reactive and non-reactive transition probabilities are reported for the collinear He + H₂⁺ collisions in the energy range 0.955–1.5 eV. An interesting mirror-image relation between states of the same symmetry is pointed out. The scattering resonances are interpreted qualitatively in terms of the bound states supported by the vibrational adiabatic potential in hyperspherical coordinates.     

Total one-electron capture cross sections for Ar q+ and I q+ ions in slow collisions on H2 and He

Argon and iodine recoil ions were produced by a 2 GeV U⁷⁵⁺ beam and total one electron capture cross sections are measured for 198 eV/q Ar ^q+ (4≦q≦15) and I ^q+ (5≦q≦27 on He andH ₂. The cross section can be approximately reproduced by 1/2 πR ² according to the classical barrier model. Theq-dependences exhibit significant fluctuations even for high charge states.     

Alignment of H(2p) in H-He,Ne, Ar collisions

The integral alignmentA ₂₀ was investigated for H(2p) excitation in H-He, Ne, Ar collisions at incident energies of 1–25 keV. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations based on different theoretical models. Calculations which do not account for the quasi-molecular aspect of the collision process are at variance with the experimental data below incident energies of 10 keV. Above 15 keV, fair agreement is obtained with calculations which include simultaneous excitation of both projectile and target.     

Alignment of atomic autoionizing states created by slow Na++He collisions

Ejected-electron spectra have been measured for collisions of He-atoms with Na⁺-ions, whose impact energy ranged from 1.7 to 7.0 keV. The ion impact-energy dependence of the angular-differential cross-section of the ejected electrons has been investigated for an aligned autoionizing state Na**(2p ⁵ 3s ^{2 2} P), which has been created by charge transfer from the He-atoms. The alignment of the autoionizing state Na**(2p ⁵ 3s ^{2 2} P) is discussed in relation to the scattering angles of the Na⁺-ions. A complete longitudinal alignment has been observed with respect to the quasimolecular axis.     

Orientation and alignment of Mg+ (3p) states excited in 1–60 keV collisions with He and Ar

The orientation and alignment of Mg⁺ (3p) states created in 1–60 keV Mg⁺ (3s)-He, Ar collisions have been studied by the polarized photon-scattered particle coincidence technique at scattering angles corresponding to impact-parameter ranges of 0.5–1.0 a.u. (He) and 1.2–2.0 a.u. (Ar). Referring to the standard geometry, in the region of maximum excitation probability (～ 35 keV), a strong propensity for population of the Mg⁺ (3p _?1) state is observed. The propensity breaks down when going towards lower energies, and for collisions with He even a transient reversal of the angular momentum occurs. The alignment angle varies little in the entire range of impact parameters and energies investigated. These observations compare well with recent general predictions of Andersen and Nielsen.     

Vibrational and rotational cooling of NO+ in collisions with He

A quantum mechanical investigation of the vibrational and rotational deactivation of NO(+) in collisions with He atoms in the cold and ultracold regime is presented. Ab initio potential energy calculations are carried out at BCCD(T) level and a new global 3D potential energy surface (PES) is obtained by fitting ab initio points within the reproducing kernel Hilbert space method. As a first test of this PES the bound state energies of the (3)He-NO(+) and (4)He-NO(+) complexes are calculated and compared to previous rigid rotor calculations. The efficiency of the vibrational and the rotational cooling of this molecular ion using a buffer gas of helium is then investigated by performing close coupling scattering calculations for collision energy ranging from 10(-6) to 2000 cm(-1). The calculations are performed for the two isotopes (3)He and (4)He and the results are compared to the available experimental data.     

Quasiclassical trajectory study of energy transfer and collision-induced dissociation in hyperthermal Ar + CH4 and Ar + CF4 collisions

We present a study of energy transfer in collisions of Ar with methane and perfluoromethane at hyperthermal energies (E(coll) = 4-10 eV). Quasiclassical trajectory calculations of Ar + CX(4) (X = H, F) collisions indicate that energy transfer from reagents' translation to internal modes of the alkane molecule is greatly enhanced by fluorination. The reasons for the enhancement of energy transfer upon fluorination are shown to emerge from a decrease in the hydrocarbon vibrational frequencies of the CX(4) molecule with increasing the mass of the X atom, and to an increase of the steepness of the Ar-CX(4) intermolecular potential. At high collision energies, we find that the cross section of Ar + CF(4) collisions in which the amount of energy transfer is larger than needed to break a C-F bond is at least 1 order of magnitude larger than the cross sections of Ar + CH(4) collisions producing CH(4) with energy above the dissociation limit. In addition, collision-induced dissociation is detected in short time scales in the case of the fluorinated species at E(coll) = 10 eV. These results suggest that the cross section for degradation of fluorinated hydrocarbon polymers under the action of nonreactive hyperthermal gas-phase species might be significantly larger than that of hydrogenated hydrocarbon polymers. We also illustrate a practical way to derive intramolecular potential energy surfaces for bond-breaking collisions by improving semiempirical Hamiltonians based on grids of high-quality ab initio calculations.     

An approximate description of the double capture process in He2+ + He collisions with static correlation

It is shown that the process of resonant double electron capture in high energy He²⁺+He collisions can be approximately described by a sum over products of one-electron CDW amplitudes. The summation coefficients are determined by stationary ground-state calculations with CI wavefunctions. Total and differential cross sections are calculated and compared with experimental values.     

Charge transfer mechanism in N4+ + He and B3+ + He/H2 ion–atom/molecule collisions

Ab initio potential energy curves and coupling matrix elements of the molecular states involved in the collision of the N⁴⁺(2s)²S and B³⁺(1s²)¹S multicharged ions on the helium atom or molecular hydrogen have been determined by means of configuration interaction methods. The total and partial electron capture cross-sections have been evaluated in the frame of a semiclassic approach in the 1- to 100-keV laboratory energy range and compared to experimental data. A comparative study of both targets is performed in the case of the B³⁺ ion. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Theoretical study of single-electron capture in the N5+ + He and O6+ + He collisions by means of ab initio methods

Partial cross sections of single-electron capture on the n = 3 levels have been determined theoretically for the N⁵⁺ + He and O⁶⁺ + He collisions by means of a semiclassical method using ab initio potential energy curves and radial and rotational coupling matrix elements. The different behavior of these two isoelectronic systems is fairly well reproduced by our calculations.     

Comparison of keV N2(+*)/He and N2(+*)/Ar collisions by emission spectroscopy and theory

Collision-induced emission spectra from 190-1020 nm were obtained for N 2 (+*)/Ar collisions at laboratory frame collision energies from 2 to 8 keV. The relative emission intensities of N 2 (+*), N (+), and N (*) are independent of the ion translational energy within the studied energy range, supporting the curve-crossing mechanism for collisional excitation. The role of the target gas in keV N 2 (+*)/He and N 2 (+*)/Ar collisions was investigated by both emission spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. Adiabatic potential energy surfaces calculated at the CISD/6-311+G(2df) level of theory for N 2 (+*)/He and N 2 (+*)/Ar collisions indicate that excitation to the A (2)Pi u and B (2)Sigma u (+) states involves curve-crossing first to the C (2)Sigma u (+) state, and the difference in N 2 (+*) emission intensities from the two systems can be accounted for by the slope difference at the crossing points based on the Landau-Zener curve-crossing model.     

Single electron capture by C3+ ions in He,Ne and Ar

Translational energy spectra have been obtained for 6 keV C²⁺ ions resulting from single-electron capture by 6 keV C³⁺ ions in collision with He, Ne and Ar. Our data for He and Ne are in good agreement with previous measurements, while data for the Ar target have not appeared in the literature. The spectrum for C³⁺ in Ar is complex and appears to contain many strong spectral features which involve capture with excitation of the target product ion in Ar⁺.     

Differential energy-loss spectra for CH4 + Ar collisions

In a crossed molecular-beam experiment differential time-of-flight spectra have been measured for CH₄ + Ar collisions at E = 93.1 meV. Ale energy-loss spectra, which show a remarkable transfer of rotational energy, are compared with coupled-states calculations based on a model potential previously derived.     

Simultaneous electron capture and target ion excitation in collisions of C4+ and N5+ on He

Cross sections for simultaneous electron capture and target ion excitation have been measured for impact of slow He-like C⁴⁺ and N⁵⁺ ions on He. The energy of the primary ion beams has been varied over more than two orders of magnitude: 0.05–7 keV/amu. The results are discussed on basis of a slightly modified version of the dynamic classical over-barrier model for multiple electron capture. The differences in the energy dependences of the experimental results of C⁴⁺ and N⁵⁺ — He can be explained qualitatively by assuming that for N⁵⁺ binding energy sharing between the two participating electrons is of importance, particularly at the lower impact energies.     

Resolution of angular rotational rainbows in Na2 + Ne,Ar collisions

State-to-state dfferential cross sections for rotational excitation in Na₂-Ne collisions have been measured and the characteristics of such processes involving repulsive surfaces demonstrated. The rotational rainbow maxima shift to larger scattering angles and broaden as the angular momentum transfer increases. Good agreement with IOS calculations is found. Results for Na₂-Ar are included.     

Rainbow scattering for Ar + Ar and Xe + Xe

Elastic differential scattering measurements have been performed on Ar⁺ + Ar and Xe⁺ + Xe. The rainbow scattering angle is found at τ = Eθ ≈ 115 eV deg for Ar⁺₂ and τ ≈ 93 eV deg for Xe⁺₂. These data are consistent with a potential well depth of 1.25 eV for Ar⁺₂ and 0.97 eV for Xe⁺₂.     

Population and deactivation of lowest lying barium levels by collisions with He,Ar, Xe and Ba ground state atoms

Excitation transfer between the barium low lying excited states 6s6p ³ P ₁ ⁰ , 6s5d ¹ D ₂ and 6s5d ³ D _J by collisions with He,Ar,Xe and Ba has been investigated. The population densities in all levels involved were probed by absorption or by fluorescence usingcw lasers. The depopulation cross sections of the Ba³ P ₁ ⁰ state by collisions with noble gases were found to be σ_He(³ P ₁ ⁰ )=5.5·10^?16 cm², σ_Ar(³ P ₁ ⁰ )=4.6·10^?16 cm², and σ_Xe(³ P ₁ ⁰ )=1.7·10^?16 cm². For Ar, the collisional depopulation of the³ P ₁ ⁰ level is exclusively due to the transition to the¹ D ₂ state. Under the assumption that the³ D _J metastable states are populated collisionally by¹ D ₂ →³ D _J transfer only, we have deduced the upper limit for the corresponding cross section σ ₁₃ ^Ar =1.5·10^?18 cm². From the Ba¹ D ₂ and Ba³ D _J steady-state diffusion distributions, collisional relaxation rates of the¹ D ₂ and³ D _J levels were evaluated. The collisional relaxation rates by Ar and Ba yielded total cross sections for the depopulation of metastable levels: σ_Ar(¹ D ₂)=1.5·10^?17 cm², σ_Ba(¹ D ₂)?1·10^?13 cm², σ_Ar(³ D _J)=7·10^?21 cm², and σ_Ba(³ D _J)=1·10^?15 cm². Furthermore, it was found that the main contribution of the collisional depopulation of the¹ D ₂ state by Ar is related to back transfer to the³ P _J ⁰ state, whereas the deactivation of the³ D _J metastable state is due to back transfer to the¹ D ₂ state. Taking into account other cross sections reported in literature we can conclude that collisional deactivation of both metastable levels by Ba ground state atoms can be attributed to their mutual collisional mixing.