Inelastic electron scattering induced quantum coherence: isotope effect
Abstract
Recent discoveries of electron-induced coherence in both resonant and non-resonant interactions have introduced new perspectives in the field. In non-resonant processes, coherence has been observed in dipolar dissociation, where electron-induced excitation forms a coherent superposition of states of opposite parities, resulting in asymmetry in the angle-differential cross-section of the process relative to the incident electron beam. Notably, an isotope effect has been observed in D2 at 50 eV, where heavier isotopes exhibit diminished asymmetry due to their longer dissociation times. Here, we report the isotope effect on quantum coherence in D2 across different electron energies. Additionally, we investigate the role of coherence in the isotopologue HD. Our findings reveal that the asymmetric masses in HD do not influence electron-impact excitation, leading to similar asymmetry in the angular distributions of H- and D- ions. This observation is explained by the homonuclear-like behavior of HD within the Franck-Condon region.
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