Single and Double Electron Capture in Boron Collision Systems

Abstract

Although single electron capture remains generally the main process in most ion-atom charge-transfer reactions, double and eventually multiple electron capture may be important in the understanding of such processes. An illustration of these mechanisms is presented on the example of the B²⁺ + H and B⁴⁺ + He collisions. A complete ab-initio molecular treatment of the potential energy curves and coupling matrix elements followed by a semiclassical collision dynamics has been performed for these systems. An adiabatic representation providing an unambiguous description of the molecular states has been used throughout this work. The results compare well to experimental data and improve markedly previous theoretical work.