Absolute state-selected and state-to-state total cross sections for the reaction Ar+(2P3/2,1/2)+O2

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Abstract
Absolute spin–orbit state‐selected total cross sections for the reactions, Ar+(2P3/2,1/2)+O2→O+2+Ar [reaction (1)], O++O+Ar [reaction (2)], and ArO++O [reaction (3)], have been measured in the center‐of‐mass collision energy (Ec.m.) range of 0.044–133.3 eV. Absolute spin–orbit state transition total cross sections for the Ar+(2P3/2,1/2)+O2 reaction at Ec.m.=2.2–177.6 eV have also been examined. The appearance energies for the formation of O+ (Ec.m.=2.9±0.2 eV) and ArO+ (2.2±0.2 eV) are in agreement with the thermochemical thresholds for reactions (2) and (3), respectively. The cross sections for O+2, O+, and ArO+ depend strongly on Ec.m. and the spin–orbit states of Ar+, suggesting that reactions (1)–(3) are governed predominantly by couplings between electronic potential energy surfaces arising from the interactions of Ar+(2P3/2)+O2, Ar+(2P1/2)+O2, and O+2+Ar. In the Ec.m. range of 6.7–22.2 eV, corresponding to the peak region of the O+ cross section curve, the cross sections for O+ are ≥50% of those for O+2. The production of O+ by reaction (2) is interpreted to be the result of predissociation of O+2 in excited states formed initially by reaction (1). The formation of charge transfer O+2(ã 4Πu) has been probed by the charge transfer reaction O+2(ã 4Πu)+Ar. The results indicate that in the Ec.m. range of 0.4–3.0 eV charge transfer product O+2 ions are formed mainly in the O+2(ã 4Πu) state. Experimental evidence is found supporting the conclusion that the vibrational distributions of O+2(ã 4Πu) formed in reaction (1) and by photoionization of O2 in the energy range between the O+2(ã 4Πu, v=0) and O+2(Ã 2Πu, v=0) thresholds are similar. The population of O+(4S) formed by reaction (2) has also been measured by the reaction O+(4S)+N2→NO++N. In the Ec.m. range of 3–44 eV, product O+ ions of reaction (2) are shown to be dominantly in the O+(4S) ground state. At Ec.m.≥14 eV, the retarding potential energy analysis for O+2 shows that more than 98% of the charge transfer O+2 ions are slow ions formed mostly by the long‐range electron jump mechanism. Product ArO+ ions are observed only in the Ec.m. range of 2.2–26.6 eV. At Ec.m. slightly above the thermochemical thresholds of reactions (2) and (3), the overwhelming majority of ArO+ and O+ ions are scattered backward and forward with respect to the c.m. velocity of reactant Ar+, respectively. This observation is rationalized by a charge transfer predissociation mechanism which involves the formation of ArO+ and O+ via nearly collinear Ar+–O–O collision configurations at Ec.m. near the thresholds of reactions (2) and (3).