Ionization Cross Sections in the Collision between Two Ground State Hydrogen Atoms at Low Energies

Abstract

The interaction between two ground state hydrogen atoms in a collision was studied using the four-body classical trajectory Monte Carlo method. We present the total cross sections for the dominant channels, namely for the single ionization of the target, the ionization of the projectile, resulting from pure ionization, and also from the electron transfer (capture or loss) processes. We also present cross sections for the complete break of the system, resulting in the final channel for four free particles. The calculations were carried out at low energies, relevant to the interest of fusion research. We present our cross sections in the projectile energy range between 2.0 keV and 100 keV and compare them with previously obtained theoretical and experimental results.

Keywords

• classical trajectory Monte Carlo method
• ionization
• four-body collision