Formation of Negative Metal Ions in a Field-Free Plasma

A field-free and homogeneous plasma of a large volume is formed by neutron irradiation of 3He at a density corresponding to NTP and at gas temperatures in the range 300-1600 deg K. The accuracy and ease by which the source density of free electrons can be varied and controlled offers special possibilities to study recombination and attachment phenomena in the absence of diffusion. These possibilities are described and utilized for the study of the effects of mixing the helium gas with metal vapours. Attachment of electrons to neutral metal atoms is found to be the dominant cause of electron removal for metal concentrations above certain limits. Negative metal ions are formed and the rate of their formation was determined to be about 10-13 cm3/s. Evidence is also presented, that for such conditions where formation of negative metal ions does not occur, the electrons are lost in electron-ion recombinations, in which the third body is not an electron. No molecular helium spectrum is observed from the plasma when it is very close to spectroscopic purity. Instead, between 3,000-7,000 A only one atomic helium line at 5875 A is observed. The recombination of He+2 may therefore be dissociative. A difference in recombination behaviour between 3He and 4He at high pressures may therefore exist considering results from previous work on 4He