Single- and double-electron detachment from H- in collisions with He

The single- and double-electron detachment processes have been studied for 85 keV H- on He collisions measuring the energy spectra of the electrons emitted in forward direction. In the spectrum belonging to the single-electron loss (SEL) the nonresonant part (cusp) has been resolved from the resonant part [lines from the (2s2p)P-1(o) shape resonance of H-]. The ratio of the integrated yield of the double-electron loss (DEL) to that of SEL was found to be 0.36+/-0.02. The yield of the cusp in the SEL spectrum was found to be surprisingly small, only (70+/-20)% of the yield of the cusp in the DEL spectrum. The formation of the cusp in SEL is interpreted as a result of dipolar interaction between the electron and the outgoing H-o atom.