Theoretical investigation of energy deposition and electron capture cross-sections for helium ion impact on formaldehyde

Abstract

The subject of the work presented here is related to damage caused by energetic, charged particle radiation such as electrons, protons, and alpha particles to prebiotic matter such as that found in interstellar space. The calculations are carried out using an all electron, all nuclei, scheme that explicitly treats the electron-nuclear coupling. We present results for the no-capture, as well as the single and double electron capture probabilities, as well as for the 1s and 2l (l=s,p) contributions to the electron capture cross-sections of 3He2+ projectiles on formaldehyde molecules. We find that the summed cross-section peaks at 10keV/amu, and has a plateau between 0.1 and 1keV/amu. We also present preliminary results for the nuclear, ro-vibrational and electronic stopping cross-section. We find a large contribution to the electronic stopping cross-section and a maximum shifted towards higher energies in the nuclear stopping cross-section, when compared to SRIM results. We interpret this to be a consequence of molecular bonding.