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Electron recombination of rotationally cold D 2 H + ions

Znotins, A. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000322256819)·Faure, A. [Univ. of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble (France)] (ORCID:0000000171992535)·Greene, C. H. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000220966385)·Grieser, M. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000250662550)·Grussie, F. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)]·Isberner, L. W. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Justus-Liebig Univ., Giessen (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000235715765)·Kálosi, Á. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Columbia Astrophysics Lab.] (ORCID:0000000337820814)·Kokoouline, V. [Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)]·Müll, D. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)]·Paul, D. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Columbia Astrophysics Lab.] (ORCID:0000000176254398)·Pezzella, M. [Univ. College London (United Kingdom)]·Savin, D. W. [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Columbia Astrophysics Lab.] (ORCID:0000000211116610)·Schippers, S. [Justus-Liebig Univ., Giessen (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000261667138)·Tennyson, J. [Univ. College London (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000249945238)·Wolf, A. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000311989013)·Novotný, O. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:000000032520343X)·Kreckel, H. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000305110738)
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Abstract

Dissociative recombination (DR) of electrons with small molecular ions is a fundamental process for the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium and planetary atmospheres. In previous DR studies, detailed analysis of the experimental rate coefficients has been hindered by the difficulty of preparing the ions in well-defined quantum states. For polyatomic ions in particular, truly state-selective measurements have been elusive, allowing only qualitative benchmarks of theory. Here, we present DR studies of the deuterated triatomic hydrogen ion D 2 H + , where the molecular ions were stored for up to 1000 seconds inside the Cryogenic Storage Ring (CSR) prior to the DR measurements. Our experiments with rotationally cold D 2 H + ions allow for detailed comparison to state-of-the-art theoretical calculations. We obtain very good agreement between experiment and theory even in the important collision energy range from 1 meV to 0.5 eV, where a multitude of Rydberg resonances reveal their imprint on the rate coefficient.

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Znotins, A. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000322256819), Faure, A. [Univ. of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble (France)] (ORCID:0000000171992535), Greene, C. H. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000220966385), Grieser, M. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000250662550), Grussie, F. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)], Isberner, L. W. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Justus-Liebig Univ., Giessen (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000235715765), Kálosi, Á. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Columbia Astrophysics Lab.] (ORCID:0000000337820814), Kokoouline, V. [Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)], Müll, D. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)], Paul, D. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Columbia Astrophysics Lab.] (ORCID:0000000176254398), Pezzella, M. [Univ. College London (United Kingdom)], Savin, D. W. [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Columbia Astrophysics Lab.] (ORCID:0000000211116610), Schippers, S. [Justus-Liebig Univ., Giessen (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000261667138), Tennyson, J. [Univ. College London (United Kingdom)] (ORCID:0000000249945238), Wolf, A. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000311989013), Novotný, O. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:000000032520343X), Kreckel, H. [Max Planck Inst. fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg (Germany)] (ORCID:0000000305110738). 2025-08-19. Electron recombination of rotationally cold D 2 H + ions. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62734-6

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