Study of molecular hydrogen dissociation at low keV energies

The dissociations of molecules are investigated theoretically for the diatomic breakup of H2+ following collisions between He+ and H2, and investigated experimentally for the triatomic breakup of H3+ following H3+ collisions with He. A three particle coincidence experiment is proposed and analyzed for the purpose of studying the reaction He+ + H2 → He + H2+ → He + H(2p) + H+. This experiment is designed to better define the final state of the system. The three particles to be detected in coincidence are: the scattered He, the proton, and the L/sub alpha/ photon including its polarization. A theory of measurement is developed that interprets the polarization data in terms of amplitudes and phase differences which are defined in the molecular frame. This theory includes the fine and hyperfine structure of the atomic excited states, the rotational states of the molecule, the orientation in the lab frame of the H2/sup +*/ after collision and the molecular potential energies to describe the final state following the dissociation of H2+. Since the general result is so complex, the radiation intensity equation is explicitly written out only for the three specific cases when the H2/sup +*/ is parallel to the lab X-, Y-, and Z-axes after the collision