Low-energy electron capture by Ne 2+ ions from H(D)

Using the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) ion-atom merged-beams apparatus, the absolute, total single-electron-capture cross section has been measured for collisions of Ne{sup 2+} with deuterium (D) at center-of-mass (c.m.) collision energies of 59-949 eV/u. With the high-velocity ion beams now available at the ORNL Multicharged Ion Research Facility, we have extended our previous merged-beams measurement to lower c.m. collision energies. The data are compared to all four previously published measurements for Ne{sup 2+}+H(D) which differ considerably from one another at energies (less-or-similar sign)600 eV/u. We are unaware of any published theoretical cross-section data for Ne{sup 2+}+H(D) at the energies studied. Early quantal rate coefficient calculations for Ne{sup 2+}+H at eV/u energies suggest a cross section many orders of magnitude below previous measurements of the cross section at 40 eV/u which is the lowest collision energy for which experimental results have been published. Here we compare our measurements to recent theoretical electron-capture results for He{sup 2+}+H. Both the experimental and theoretical results show a decreasing cross section with decreasing energy.