Abstract
This letter reports the first measurements of differential cross-sections (DCS) for one- and two-electron capture by highly charged ions at low keV energies. These measurements have been achieved using a new type of spectrometer with a design based on a two-dimensional position-sensitive detector. A comparison of the shape of DCS for, respectively, one- and two-electron capture processes provides information about mechanisms for two-electron capture. Our results concerning capture by highly charged ions (q = 7,8) clearly indicate that the two electrons are captured successively during the collision.