Merging beams study of the H+3(D2,H2)HD+2 reaction mechanism

Abstract

Laboratory energy distributions of HD⁺₂ product ions formed in the H⁺₃(D₂,H₂)HD⁺₂ reaction were measured for reactants with relative energy W in the range 0.1 eV?W⩽11.0 eV. The results show that most of the product ions appear as a single peak, asymmetric with respect to the c.m. zero energy, and suggest predominantly direct interactions over the entire energy range studied. The relative energy of products, calculated from the position of the peak in the measured distribution, follows the predictions of the spectator stripping (SS) model for W?8 eV. Above W=9 eV the SS peak disappears and a product peak found at lower laboratory energies becomes dominant.