Dissociative recombination and dissociation of molecular ions by electron impact - comparative efficiency

Some general relations are obtained comparing the cross sections for dissociative recombination of molecular ions, accompanied by the formation of highly excited atoms, with the cross sections for dissociation by electron impact. Calculations are performed for the H2(+) ion. The accuracy of the dipole approximation for evaluating the collisional excitation cross sections of ions is assessed. 11 references