Cross sections for 14-eV e-H2 resonant collisions: Isotope effect in dissociative electron attachment

The process of dissociative attachment of electrons to molecular hydrogen and its isotopes in the energy range at approximately 14 eV is investigated. The dissociative electron attachment cross sections for all six hydrogen isotopes are calculated over an extended range of electron energies using the local complex potential model with the excited Rydberg (2)Sigma(+)(g) electronic state of H-2(-) acting as the intermediate resonant state. A significant isotope effect in theoretical electron attachment cross sections is observed, in agreement with previous predictions and experimental observations. A two-parameter analytic expression for the cross section is derived from the theory that fits accurately the numerically calculated cross sections for all isotopes. Similarly, an analytic mass-scaling relation is derived from the theory that accurately reproduces the numerically calculated rate coefficients for all isotopes in the 0.1-1000 eV temperature range by using the rate coefficient for the H-2 isotope only. The latter is represented by an analytic fit expression with two parameters only.