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arXiv · 1108.3739

Light-assisted ion-neutral reactive processes in the cold regime: radiative molecule formation vs. charge exchange

Felix H. J. Hall·Mireille Aymar·Nadia Bouloufa-Maafa·Olivier Dulieu·Stefan Willitsch
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Abstract

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of cold reactive collisions between laser-cooled Ca+ ions and Rb atoms in an ion-atom hybrid trap. We observe rich chemical dynamics which are interpreted in terms of non-adiabatic and radiative charge exchange as well as radiative molecule formation using high-level electronic structure calculations. We study the role of light-assisted processes and show that the efficiency of the dominant chemical pathways is considerably enhanced in excited reaction channels. Our results illustrate the importance of radiative and non-radiative processes for the cold chemistry occurring in ion-atom hybrid traps.

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Felix H. J. Hall, Mireille Aymar, Nadia Bouloufa-Maafa, Olivier Dulieu, Stefan Willitsch. 2011-10-20. Light-assisted ion-neutral reactive processes in the cold regime: radiative molecule formation vs. charge exchange. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.107.243202

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