Crossed ion–atom beam study of the inelastic collision processes between neutral Mg(3 1S0) atoms and Cs+(1S0) ions in the 0.05–4.20 keV energy range

Abstract

Inelastic excitation and charge transfer excitation processes in collisions between neutral Mg atoms and Cs⁺ ions, both in their ground states, have been studied by means of a crossed molecular beam technique. Decay fluorescent emissions from Mg(3 ¹P₁), Mg(3 ³D_3,2,1), Mg(4 ³S₁) and Cs(6 ²P_3/2) states have been detected as well as the phosphorescent emission due to Mg(3 ³P₁) decay. The corresponding absolute cross-sections vs. collision energy functions were determined in the laboratory 0.05–4.20 keV energy range. In order to interpret the experimental results, accurate ab initio calculations using pseudopotentials have been performed for the (Mg–Cs)⁺ system obtaining a manifold of adiabatic energy curves correlating with the different collision channels and allowing a qualitative interpretation of the emission excitation functions for the different processes studied.