Ion-atom-atom three-body recombination in cold hydrogen and deuterium plasmas

Abstract

We present a detailed study about ion-atom-atom three-body recombination in hydrogen and deuterium plasmas based on classical trajectory calculations in hyperspherical coordinates. Our results, due to the predominant role of the long-range charged-induced dipole interaction, indicate that H${}_2^{+}$ and D${}_2^{+}$ are the main reaction products in the case of hydrogen and deuterium plasmas, respectively. Besides, we find a more steep energy-dependent reaction rate when the collision energy surpasses the dissociation energy of the molecular ion, thus entering a new dynamical regime dominated by short-range interactions.

6 pages, 3 figures, submitted for publication as a Regular Article in Physical Review A

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