Single electron capture in slow collisions of H 2+ ions with H 2, O 2 and N 2 diatomic molecules

Abstract

Collisions of the slow molecular hydrogen ions, H 2 + on H 2, O 2 and N 2 diatomic molecules in the energy range 700–2000 eV have been studied experimentally using the time-of-flight technique. The total cross sections for H 2 + with H 2, O 2 and N 2 are found to be in the range of (1.79 ± 0.27–2.78 ± 0.42) Å 2, (3.43 ± 0.51–5.15 ± 0.78) Å 2 and (3.46 ± 0.52–5.03 ± 0.75) Å 2, respectively. The measured electron capture cross sections show a slowly increasing behavior as a function of the incident energy. The measured cross sections for H 2 + with H 2 systems are compared with the existing data.