Low-energy electron capture by N2+ ions from O2 and H2 molecular gases

Using the time-of-flight (TOF) technique, absolute total one-electron-capture cross sections were measured for N-2(+) ions in slow collision with O-2 and H-2 molecular gases in the energy range of 0.50-2.0 keV These electron-capture cross sections are found to be in the range of 2.35-5.09 Angstrom(2) for N-2(+) + O-2 collisions and 0.42-2.37 Angstrom(2) for N-2(+) + H-2. The present low-energy measurements and earlier high-energy measurements [J. Geophys. Res. 34 (1979) 7302] are compared. Extrapolation of the present low-energy data to the high-energy regime shows reasonable agreement. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.