Dissociative charge exchange of H3+ and D3+ with cesium: Dissociation dynamics and two- and three-body branching fractions

The two-and three-body center-of-mass kinetic energy release distributions for H-3 and D-3 along with their branching fractions were measured using charge exchange of H-3(+) and D-3(+) with Cs. Vibrational and rotational excitation in the diatomic product and radiative decay to the repulsive ground state from a manifold of Rydberg states are observed in both systems. The two-body dissociation pathway is found to be dominant, however, for higher-lying Rydberg states, the three-body pathway becomes increasingly important. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.