The study of chemical reactions between ions and neutral species at very low energies reveals precise informations about the dynamics of collisions and fine details of intermolecular interactions. Here, we report progress towards the development of next- generation experiments for the investigation of cold ion-neutral reactions. First, we present a new ''dynamic" hybrid ion-atom trap which enables the study of collisions with a superior energy resolution accessing a regime in which quantum scattering resonances may become observable. Second, we discuss and numerically characterize the concept and properties of a hybrid trap for cold neutral molecules and molecular ions which paves the way for the study of ion-molecule reactions in the millikelvin regime.
The study of chemical reactions between ions and neutral species at very low energies reveals precise informations about the dynamics of collisions and fine details of intermolecular interactions. Here, we report progress towards the development of next- generation experiments for the investigation of cold ion-neutral reactions. First, we present a new ''dynamic" hybrid ion-atom trap which enables the study of collisions with a superior energy resolution accessing a regime in which quantum scattering resonances may become observable. Second, we discuss and numerically characterize the concept and properties of a hybrid trap for cold neutral molecules and molecular ions which paves the way for the study of ion-molecule reactions in the millikelvin regime.
Studying chemical reactions at very low temperatures is of importance for the understanding of fundamental physical and chemical processes. At very low energies, collisions are dominated by only a few partial waves. Thus, studies in this regime allow the characterisation of quantum effects which depend on the collisional angular momentum, e.g., reactive scattering resonances and tunneling through centrifugal barriers. Additionally, the dynamics of ultralow-energy collisions is dominated by long-range interactions, i.e., "universal" chemical forces. Thus, experiments in this domain probe the details of intermolecular interactions which is of general relevance for the understanding of chemical processes. Moreover, the increasingly more precise experiments provide valuable data for benchmarking theoretical models and quantum-chemical calculations. Studies of cold ion-neutral reactions in the laboratory rely on techniques for the generation of cold ions and cold neutrals. Many of these techniques do not only allow the translational cooling of the molecules, but also a precise reparation of their internal quantum state. Thus, by an accurate preparation of both the energy and state of the reaction partners as well as by the application of external electric, magnetic or optical fields, prospects open up to study and control chemical processes at an unprecedented level of accuracy. In this chapter, we will review salient theoretical concepts and recent experimental developments for studies of ion-molecule reactions at low temperatures. We first discuss the theoretical background for the description of low-energy ion-molecule reactions. Next we present key experimental methods for laboratory studies of cold ion-molecule reactions. The chapter concludes with a review of illustrative results and an outlook on future directions.
Studying chemical reactions at very low temperatures is of importance for the understanding of fundamental physical and chemical processes. At very low energies, collisions are dominated by only a few partial waves. Thus, studies in this regime allow the characterization of quantum effects which depend on the collisional angular momentum, e.g., reactive scattering resonances and tunneling through centrifugal barriers. Additionally, the dynamics of ultralow-energy collisions is dominated by long-range interactions, i.e., “universal” chemical forces. Thus, experiments in this domain probe the details of intermolecular interactions which is of general relevance for the understanding of chemical processes. Moreover, the increasingly more precise experiments provide valuable data for benchmarking theoretical models and quantum chemical calculations. Studies of cold ion–neutral reactions in the laboratory rely on techniques for the generation of cold ions and cold neutrals. Over the last decades, the technology in this domain has made impressive progress. Many of these techniques allow not only the translational cooling of the molecules, but also a precise preparation of their internal quantum state. Thus, by an accurate preparation of both the energy and state of the reaction partners as well as by the application of external electric, magnetic or optical fields, prospects open up to study and control chemical processes at an unprecedented level of accuracy. In this chapter, we review salient theoretical concepts and recent experimental developments for studies of ion–molecule reactions at low temperatures. We first discuss the theoretical background for the description of low-energy ion–molecule reactions. Next we present key experimental methods for laboratory studies of cold ion–molecule reactions. The chapter concludes with a review of illustrative results and an outlook on future directions.
Cold chemical reactions between laser-cooled Ca+ ions and Rb atoms were studied in an ion-atom hybrid trap. Reaction rate constants were determined in the range of collision energies ⟨E coll⟩/k B=20 mK-20 K. The lowest energies were achieved in experiments using single localised Ca+ ions. Product branching ratios were studied using resonant-excitation mass spectrometry. The dynamics of the reactive processes in this system (non-radiative and radiative charge transfer as well as radiative association leading to the formation of CaRb+ molecular ions) have been analysed using high-level quantum-chemical calculations of the potential energy curves of CaRb+ and quantum-scattering calculations for the radiative channels. For the present low-energy scattering experiments, it is shown that the energy dependence of the reaction rate constants is governed by long-range interactions in line with the classical Langevin model, but their magnitude is determined by short-range non-adiabatic and radiative couplings which only weakly depend on the asymptotic energy. The quantum character of the collisions is predicted to manifest itself in the occurrence of narrow shape resonances at well-defined collision energies. The present results highlight both universal and system-specific phenomena in cold ion-neutral reactive collisions.
This thesis explores the fundamental physical and chemical processes between molecular ions and neutral atoms in the gas phase at very low energies. At temperatures in the mK regime, these are dominated by long-range interactions and only a few partial waves. This study contributes to the understanding of the details of intermolecular interactions and provides valuable data for benchmarking theoretical models and quantum-chemical calculations. Although there is a wide range of previous atomic collision system studies, the investigations of cold collisions with molecular ions are limited. The experimental setup used in this work enabled the measurement of rate coefficients for molecular ion-neutral collisions. The development of a dynamic ion-neutral hybrid trap with improved control over collision energy led to new insights into charge-transfer rate coefficients for molecular ion-neutral atom collisions involving N2++Rb, O2++Rb and N2H++Rb. Two different experimental settings enable state-and collision-energy dependent measurements of rate coefficients for all systems revealing an intriguing interplay between long-and short-range effects for the homonuclear diatomics by comparison to theoretical calculations and surprising experimental results for the polyatomic study. A fit of a constant function to the measured CT rate coefficients in the state-dependent experiment of N2H++Rb yielded the similar result as for N2++Rb(5s)(2S1/2). In the collision-energy dependent experiment the CT rate coefficient for N2H++Rb(5s)(2S1/2) and N2H++Rb(5p)(2P3/2) are both similar to the results for N2++Rb(5s)(2S1/2), and also the rate coefficients increase as the collision-energy increases.
Cold chemical reactions between laser-cooled Ca^+ ions and Rb atoms were studied in an ion-atom hybrid trap. Reaction rate constants were determined in the range of collision energies /k_B = 20 mK-20 K. The lowest energies were achieved in experiments using single localized Ca^+ ions. Product branching ratios were studied using resonant-excitation mass spectrometry. The dynamics of the reactive processes in this system (non-radiative and radiative charge transfer as well as radiative association leading to the formation of CaRb^+ molecular ions) have been analyzed using high-level quantum-chemical calculations of the potential energy curves of CaRb^+ and quantum-scattering calculations for the radiative channels. For the present low-energy scattering experiments, it is shown that the energy dependence of the reaction rate constants is governed by long-range interactions in line with the classical Langevin model, but their magnitude is determined by short-range non-adiabatic and radiative couplings which only weakly depend on the asymptotic energy. The quantum character of the collisions is predicted to manifest itself in the occurrence of narrow shape resonances at well-defined collision energies. The present results highlight both universal and system-specific phenomena in cold ion-neutral reactive collisions.
Cold ion-neutral reactive processes were studied in an hybrid trap down to average collision energies <E_coll>/k_B > 20 mK. The atomic ion-neutral systems Ca^+ + Rb and Ba^+ + Rb were studied, and the results interpreted with high-level quantum chemical and quantum scattering calculations. Three reactive processes were found to be in competition, namely non-radiative charge transfer induced by non-adiabatic couplings between potential energy surfaces, radiative charge transfer, and radiative association of molecular ions, which were observed using mass spectrometry. The role of light in these processes was investigated. Enhancement of reaction rate constants from electronically excited entrance channels was observed and rationalised using computed potential energy curves. The collision-energy dependence of the reaction rate constants was investigated, and was found to be in line with predictions of both classical and quantum models uncovering general effects in cold ion-neutral systems. Cold reactions in the molecular ion-neutral system N_2^+ + Rb were also investigated with average collision energies two orders of magnitude lower than previously realised. The reaction rate constant in this system was found to depend strongly on the Rb ^2P_3/2 population, with the rate constant from the corresponding excited entrance channel being significantly faster than the collision rate predicted by Langevin theory. A classical capture model was developed taking into account the charge permanent-quadrupole intermolecular force and was found to reproduce the observed rate. The implied near unit reaction probability was rationalised by a near electronic resonance of entrance and product channels. A detailed description of the implementation of the ion-neutral hybrid trap is given. A thorough comparison of the results from state-of-the-art experiments and theory reveals general features of light assisted cold ion-neutral reactions. \n