Charge-state distribution of products from dissociative collisions of 400-800-keVH3+ions: Experiment and semiempirical model

The dissociation channels of ${\mathrm{H}}_3^{+}$ ions after a single dissociative collision in a gas target (Ar, ${\mathrm{H}}_2$, or air) were resolved by electronic coincidences and were characterized by the charge states of all the fragments. The dependence of the probabilities of the various channels on the bombarding ${\mathrm{H}}_3^{+}$ energy, the target gas, and the pressure of this gas was determined. Equations for the dissociation process are constructed and an interpretation of the complex dissociation process is given by the semiempirical model of geometric dissociation.