Absolute cross-sections and kinetic energy release distributions for electron-impact dissociation of D+3

Abstract

Absolute cross-sections for electron-impact dissociation of D+3 leading to the formation of D+ and D+2 products have been measured by applying the animated electron-ion beam method in the energy range from the respective thresholds up to 2.5 keV. The maximum total cross-sections are observed to be (13.9 ± 1.1) × 10−17 cm2 and (8.2 ± 0.1) × 10−17 cm2 (around 50 eV) for D+ and for D+2 fragments, respectively. The present results are in a satisfactory agreement with those of experiments performed at storage ring facilities in the low energy range (<30 eV). The data of D+ formation especially show resonant dissociative excitation playing a significant role in the collision energy range below the vertical excitation energy for the lowest electronic transition. The yields of fast D+ and D+2 ions have been measured; these energetic dissociations are mainly ascribed to dissociative ionization. For each fragment, absolute cross-sections are determined separately for dissociative excitation and for dissociative ionization processes. Kinetic energy release distributions are seen to extend from 0 to 16 eV both for D+ and for D+2 fragments. Present energy thresholds and kinetic energy release results are compared with available published data, allowing in some cases identification of fragmentation patterns and of molecular states contributing to observed processes.