Rotational Cooling of HD+ Molecular Ions by Superelastic Collisions with Electrons
Résumé
Merging an HD+ beam with velocity matched electrons in a heavy ion storage ring we observed rapid cooling of the rotational excitations of the HD+ ions by superelastic collisions (SEC) with the electrons. The cooling process is well described using theoretical SEC rate coefficients obtained by combining the molecular R-matrix approach with the adiabatic nuclei rotation approximation. We verify the ΔJ=-2 SEC rate coefficients, which are predicted to be dominant as opposed to the ΔJ=-1 rates and to amount to (1-2)×10-6cm3s-1 for initial angular momentum states with J≤7, to within 30%.
Domaines
Planète et Univers [physics]| Origine | Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte |
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