Formation of heavy-Rydberg ion-pair states in collisions of K(np) Rydberg atoms with attaching targets.
The formation of heavy-Rydberg ion-pair states through electron transfer in collisions between K(np) Rydberg atoms and molecules that attach low-energy electrons is investigated. The measurements show that low-n collisions with a wide variety of target species (SF(6), c-C(7)F(14), C(6)F(6), and CCl(4)) can lead to formation of bound ion-pair states and that, under appropriate conditions, a small fraction of these can subsequently dissociate as free ions through internal-to-translational energy transfer. Analysis of the data suggests that those ion pairs that do dissociate typically have lifetimes of approximately 1 micros, although some can have lifetimes of 5 micros or longer.
Cannon
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Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA. mcannon@rice.edu
Dunning
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