Inelastic Heavy Particle Collisions Involving the Crossing of Potential Energy Curves I: Charge transfer from H atoms to Be²⁺, Si²⁺and Mg²⁺ions

The charge transfer processes H + Be 2+ → H + + Be + , H + Si 2+ → H + + Si + and H + Mg 2+ → H + + Mg + are investigated using the Landau-Zener formula for the transition probability arising from the pseudo-crossing of the potential energy curves of the initial and final systems. These pseudo-crossings occur at internuclear distances of 5.8 1 , 9.6 4 and 18.9 2 atomic units respectively (allowance being made for the effect of polarizability). It is found that the corresponding values of the energy separation due to the interaction between the initial and final states and 8.6 0 × 10 -1 , 1.0 2 × 10 -1 and 2.3 4 × 10 -5 eV. The cross sections associated with the three processes are calculated over a wide range of impact energies.