Electron cooling through resonant collisions with H2+ molecular ion

Electron cooling in H2+ through resonant capture leading to (i) vibrational excitation and (ii) vibrational dissociation of H2+ has been studied within the scope of Born-Oppenheimer approximation, using Feshbach's projection operator technique. Results are presented for (i) cross-sections for certain specific vibrational transitions (v sub(i) → v sub(f)), and for (ii) total cross-sections for vibrational dissociation. Variations in the rotational inelasticity effects as obtained for different types of vibrational excitations are discussed. (author)