Astrophysics and plasma relevant experimental studies of hydrogen and helium chemistry in high and low temperature ion traps and guides
Astrophysics and Astronomy
Final Report Abstract
Neutral and ionized hydrogen atoms and molecules play a key role in natural environments such as the early universe, inter- or circumstellar media and in many technological processes, the most complicated one being controlled fusion. In order to model the formation and destruction of hydrogen containing species under different conditions, fundamental information on the relevant elementary processes is needed, especially over a wide range of temperatures and densities. The main goal of the project was to build a guided ion beam (GIB) apparatus, NOVion, mainly from spare parts of the former research group of Prof. Dieter Gerlich. It was the purpose to build and test the machine in Cologne, transfer it to Novisad (Serbia), the location of the co-PI, Prof. Igor Savic and to make it operational in Serbia. All these goals have been achieved, culminating in a recent common publication. In our work the results are thoroughly compared to previous results and a new analytical function describing the energy dependence of the cross section of this fundamental reaction is proposed. This improved input for modelling hydrogen plasma processes has already been appreciated by a leading expert in the field. First high temperature cross sections measured with NOVion are for H3+ + He, H2+ + He and HeH+ + H2 collisions are also summarized. The excellent operation of NOVion in Novi Sad as demonstrated by these additional results and instrumental features will guarantee Prof. Savic excellent conditions to conduct more studies on reaction cross sections relevant for plasma processes. With the transfer of this exquisite instrument, Novi Sad is now one of the few places world-wide with a GIB instrument, which is the only technique for studies of low to medium energy collisions. The collaboration with Prof. Igor Savic will be continued through future projects including the continued interpretation of the many lines of the complex spectrum of the cold He-H3+ reported previously. A photograph of NOVion shows the complexity, compactness and beauty of this instrument and illustrates the tremendous task of transferring it to its new home, Novi Sad.
Publications
- Formation of H3+ in collisions of H2+ with H2 studied in a Guided Ion Beam Instrument, ChemPhysChem (2020) 21, 1429-1435
I. Savić, S. Schlemmer, D. Gerlich
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.202000258)
