Spin Dependent Charge Transfer in Low-Energy Collisions between Helium Ions and Cesium Atoms

The experiment demonstrated that total spin angular momentum is conserved in the near resonant charge transfer collisions between oriented helium ions and oriented cesium atoms. The resulting spin dependence of the total charge transfer cross-sections is described using singlet and triplet channels based on the molecular potential energy curves of the collision pair. The experiment was performed with helium ions stored in a rf-quadrupole trap in interaction with an optically pumped beam of cesium atoms. Total spin dependent charge transfer cross-sections were measured in the energy range of a few eV.