Electron Transfer and Associative Detachment in Low-Temperature Collisions of D(-) with H.

The interaction of D(-) with H was studied experimentally and theoretically at low temperatures. The rate coefficients of associative detachment and electron transfer reactions were measured in the temperature range 10-160 K using a combination of a cryogenic 22-pole trap with a cold effusive beam of atomic hydrogen. Results from quantum-mechanical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental data. The rate coefficient obtained for electron transfer is increasing monotonically with temperature from 1 × 10(-9) cm(3) s(-1) at 10 K to 5 × 10(-9) cm(3) s(-1) at 160 K. The rate coefficient for associative detachment has a flat maximum of 3 × 10(-9) cm(3) s(-1) between 30 and 100 K.