Positronium formation in collisions of fast positrons impacting on vapour water molecules

P.A. HERVIEUX; O. A. FOJÓN; C. CHAMPION; R. D. RIVAROLA; J. HANSSEN

JOURNAL OF PHYSICS B-ATOMIC MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS

Institute of Physics Publishing

Lugar: Bristol; Año: 2006 vol. 39 p. 409 - 419

0953-4075

Positronium formation through electron capture by fast positrons impinging on vapour water molecules is studied theoretically at intermediate and high impact energies. This multi-electron system is treated within the framework of the independent electron model. The charge transfer process is described by employing the continuum distorted-wave final-state approximation. In this model, the final state of the collision is distorted by two Coulomb wavefunctions associated with the interactions of both the positron and the active electron (the  captured one) with the residual ionic target. The water molecule isdescribed by an expansion of monocentric Slater-like functions centred on the oxygen atom. Total cross sections are computed by using a partial-wave technique and compared with results obtained using the simpler Coulomb–Born approximation. Theoretical results for the production of H2 O+ ions in the final channel of the reaction through charge transfer processes (positronium formation and ionization) are also presented.