State-selected ion-molecule reactions with Coulomb-crystallized molecular ions in traps

Abstract

State-selected Coulomb-crystallized molecular ions were employed for the first time in ion-molecule reaction studies using the prototypical charge-transfer process ${\mathrm{N}}_2^{+}+{\mathrm{N}}_2\to {\mathrm{N}}_2+{\mathrm{N}}_2^{+}$ as an example. By preparing the reactant ions in a well-defined rovibrational state and localizing them in space by sympathetic cooling to millikelvin temperatures in an ion trap, state- and energy-controlled reaction experiments with sensitivities on the level of single ions were performed. The experimental results were interpreted with quasi-classical trajectory simulations on a six-dimensional potential-energy surface which provided detailed insight into translation-to-rotation energy transfer occurring during charge transfer between N${}_2$ and N${}_2^{+}$.

9 Pages, 10 figures. Accepted as a Frontiers article by Chem.Phys.Lett

References in corpus (2)

• Controlling the quantum stereodynamics of ultracold bimolecular reactions
• Light-assisted ion-neutral reactive processes in the cold regime: radiative molecule formation vs. charge exchange

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