Ion Conversion in Krypton Afterglow Plasmas

Abstract

Mass-identified measurements of the time dependence of the density of krypton ions in decaying plasmas are reported. The measurements show that the conversion of atomic into molecular krypton ions occurs by the three-body reaction ${\mathrm{Kr}}^{+}$ + 2 Kr→${\mathrm{Kr}}_2^{+}$ + Kr with a conversion rate of 2.3×${10}^{-31\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^6$ ${\sec }^{-1\mathrm{}}$ at a gas temperature of 300°K. The measured value of the mobility of atomic krypton ions in krypton is in agreement with the previously published values.