Differential study of H--inert-gas collisions

H(-) scattering by He, Ne, and Ar in the 0.08-2.0-keV energy range has been studied. The energy-loss spectra of scattered particles were obtained using the time-of-flight method and electrostatic analysis. Reduced differential cross sections for elastic and inelastic processes are reported. The dominant inelastic process is single-electron detachment, which has a very low angular threshold. Strong inelastic processes leading to H-atom excitation are observed. It is shown that the weakly bound electron of H(-) can be treated independently of the molecular (H-inert-gas atom) core and the theoretical differential cross sections of H(-)-inert-gas collisions can then be obtained by multiplying the appropriate H-inert-gas cross section by the detachment or survival probability for the outer electron calculated by Devdariani (1972) in the 'zero-radius potential' approximation.