Atomic Physics Seminars

The dissociation of the HD⁺(1s sigma) molecular ion from the vibrational continuum produces a H⁺ + D(1s) “half” collision, typically with a with a kinetic energy release upon dissociation of less than 0.5 eV. The vibrational continuum is populated by single ionization of the neutral molecule, which predominantly leads to creation of HD⁺ molecular ions, but about 1% of the time reaches the vibrational continuum,resulting in a dissociation. Using this natural particle accelerator, we study the charge transfer and elastic scattering in the H⁺ + D(1s) system at collision energies ( 0 =< E_k =< 1100 meV) much lower than have previously been obtained. Our experimental results for both channels are compared to our coupled channels calculations. Additionally, the sum of the elastic and charge transfer channels relative to the HD⁺ channel is also compared to the expected ratio of bound-free to total transitions within the Franck-Condon approximation.