Measurement of Absolute Single and Double Charge Exchange Cross Sections for Si(7–10)+ at 0.88–2.50 KeV/u Impacting He and H2

Abstract

Abstract First measurements are reported for total, absolute, single, and double charge-exchange (CE) cross sections for Si(7–10)+ ions in the solar wind (SW), colliding with the prevalent astrophysical species H2 and He found in comets, the interplanetary medium, and planetary atmospheres. Measurements are in the energy range 0.88–2.50 keV/u, corresponding to the energies of the “fast” and “slow” ion components of the SW. Limited agreement is found with single-exchange results calculated in the classical over-the-barrier model. These CE data are useful for understanding, in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, photon emissions in the X-ray to visible energy range arising from resulting ion-stabilization steps.