Charge transfer to H(2p), H(2s), and H- in proton--xenon collisions

High frequency structures have been observed in the measured total cross sections for forming H(2s), H(2p), and H- in proton-xenon collisions for an incident proton energy range of 0.5 to 5.0 keV. Oscillatory behavior in total cross sections has been interpreted by Rosenthal and Ankudinov, Bobashev, and Perel as resulting from coherent non-adiabatic coupling of the amplitudes of outgoing inelastic channels at large internuclear separation. Using the potential energy curves of (HXe)+ calculated by Kubach and Sidis to determine the relative phases of H(2s) and H(2p), it is shown that the total cross sections for forming these states exhibit interference effects that are 2 to 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the effects in the present measurement. An analysis of the observed structure in the total cross sections indicates that three frequencies are present in the H(2p) total cross section while single frequencies are present in the H- and H(2s) total cross sections. These single frequencies are common to the frequencies found in the H(2p) total cross section. Further analysis indicates that there is a strong coupling between these three outgoing channels. A mechanism based on molecular orbital curve crossings is presented to explain the data