Structure and Stability of the Negative Hydrogen Molecular Ion

Author(s)

Brandon Jordon-Thaden, Holger Kreckel, Robin Golser, Dirk Schwalm, Max H. Berg, Henrik Buhr, Hubert Gnaser, Manfred Grieser, O Heber, Michael Lange, Oldrich Novotny, Steffen Novotny, Henrik B. Pedersen, Annemieke Petrignani, R Repnow, Hilel Rubinstein, Dror Shafir, Andreas Wolf, D Zajfman

Abstract

We present the results of a Coulomb explosion experiment that allows for the imaging of the rovibrational wave function of the metastable H(2)(-) ion. Our measurements confirm the predicted large internuclear separation of 6 a.u., and they show that the ion decays by autodetachment rather than by spontaneous dissociation. Imaging of the resulting H(2) products reveals a large angular momentum of J = 25 +/- 2, quantifying the rotation that leads to the metastability of this most fundamental molecular anion.

Organisation(s)

Isotope Physics

External organisation(s)

Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Weizmann Institute of Science

Journal

Physical Review Letters

Volume

107

No. of pages

4

ISSN

0031-9007

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.193003

Publication date

2011

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103014 Nuclear physics

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/fc369fc0-c617-422d-879f-c156a3395002