Abstract
AbstractInelastic scattering processe in collisions of positive ions with neutral gas atoms and molecules can be divided into three main groups: (1) Inelastic scattering involving electronic transitions with subdivisions into final vibrational and rotational states of the collision products; (2) inelastic scattering involving vibration‐rotation transitions without a change in electronic state with subdivisions into final rotational states; and (3) inelastic scattering via pure rotational transitions. Recent advances in experimental techniques have given a great deal of new information about almost all these processes. For (1), both inelastic scattering experiments and optical fluorescence techniques have shown that although the total cross sections for electronic transitions are remarkably uniform for a large number of systems there are wide individual variations in the details of final vibrational and rotational states produced in the charge transfer and non‐charge transfer channels. For (2), it has been found that vibration‐rotation transitions are the most intense components of the inelastic scattering spectrum with cross sections of the order of 1 A2 at maximum for some systems. Because of experimental difficulties, little is known about (3) at the present time. In addition to inelastic processes, superelastic processes have now been studied in detail in the laboratory, both for electronic and vibration‐rotation transitions. These processes promise to provide a very interesting opportunity for investigations in the future into, for example, the metastable populations of ion beams, Unfortunately, we lack the ability at the present time to make theoretical predictions for the behavior of any but the simplest of these processes.
Published Version
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