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Published on: August 18, 2017
Sequential Synchronous Mechanism for Double-Electron Capture: Insights into Unforeseen Large Cross Sections in
Lamberto Oltra1, Luis Méndez1, Ismanuel Rabadán1
1Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Laboratorio Asociado al CIEMAT de Física Atómica y Molecular en Plasmas de Fusión, Departamento de Química, C/ Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, 28049-Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
Remarkably large double electron capture cross sections, on the scale of 10^{-15} cm^{2}, are observed in low-energy (<50 eV/u) collisions between Sn^{3+} and H_{2}. Given that the reaction is energetically highly unfavorable, one would expect negligibly small cross sections. Through the propagation of vibrational wave packets on coupled multiple potential energy surfaces, a novel charge transfer mechanism, driven in tandem by ion motion and molecular vibration, is revealed, offering insights into the unusual energy dependence of the measured cross sections.
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