Velocity distribution of H(2s) resulting from the electron impact dissociation of H2

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Abstract
We have calculated the velocity distribution of the fast, metastable hydrogen and deuterium atoms which result from the dissociation of the 1Πu(2pπu, 2sσg) autoionizing states of H2 and D2. The present model uses the previously computed potential energy curve and autoionization width of this doubly excited 1Πu state. The model treats the competition between ionization and dissociation into neutral fragments classically. In calculating the laboratory velocity distribution we take into account the thermal motion of the target molecules and the recoil due to the scattered electron. The effect of momentum transfer is important, as the calculated laboratory speed distribution depends sensitively on the angle of detection. The comparison of the experimental and the theoretical velocity distributions shows a significant discrepancy among the three measurements which have been reported to date.