Active Electrons in the CHe 4+ Quasimolecule

Abstract

Low energy C4++ He collisions are known to be unusual in the sense that double-electron transfer dominates single capture. A basic question is whether one, two or more active electrons play a role in these processes. To study this problem, results are reported for the molecular energies and dynamical couplings of the CHe4+ system, modified with a common translation factor. The interactions that are responsible for the capture processes are discussed in detail, and as recently proposed in the literature, double capture is shown to occur simultaneously through essentially single-electron interactions. Some illustrative results of single- and double-charge exchange cross sections are also presented.