Energy dependent stereodynamics of the Ne($^3$P$_2$)+Ar reaction

Abstract

The stereodynamics of the Ne($^3$P$_2$)+Ar Penning and Associative ionization reactions have been studied using a crossed molecular beam apparatus. The experiment uses a curved magnetic hexapole to polarise the Ne($^3$P$_2$) which is then oriented with a shaped magnetic field in the region where it intersects with a beam of Ar($^1$S). The ratios of Penning to associative ionization were recorded over a range of collision energies from 320 cm$^{-1}$ to 500 cm$^{-1}$ and the data was used to obtain $\Omega$ state dependent reactivities for the two reaction channels. These reactivities were found to compare favourably to those predicted in the theoretical work of Brumer et al.