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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Charge transfer of polyatomic molecules in ion-atom hybrid traps: Stereodynamics in the millikelvin regime

Alexandre Voute1,2,*, Alexander Dörfler3, Laurent Wiesenfeld2, Olivier Dulieu2, Fabien Gatti1, Daniel Peláez1, and Stefan Willitsch3,†

  • 1Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay, 91405, Orsay, France
  • 2Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire Aimé Cotton, 91405, Orsay, France
  • 3Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 80, 4056 Basel, Switzerland

  • *Corresponding author: alexandre.voute@universite-parissaclay.fr
  • †Corresponding author: stefan.willitsch@unibas.ch
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Phys. Rev. Research 5, L032021 – Published 11 August, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.L032021

Abstract

Rate constants for the charge-transfer reaction between N2H+ and Rb in the millikelvin regime are measured in an ion-atom hybrid trap and are found to be lower than the Langevin capture limit. Multireference ab initio computation of the potential energy surfaces involved in the reaction reveals that the low-temperature charge transfer is hindered by short-range features highly dependent on the collision angle and is promoted by a deformation of the molecular frame. The present study highlights the importance of polyatomic effects and of stereodynamics in cold molecular ion-neutral collisions.

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Phys. Rev. Research 5, L032021– Published 11 August, 2023
  • Received 27 March 2023
  • Accepted 21 June 2023
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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