Calculations of cross sections for scattering of neutral products formed by charge exchange reactions of metastable excited ions of rare gases

Differential cross sections for scattering of highly excited Ar and Kr atoms - the products of charge exchange reactions of metastable excited Ar+ and Kr+ ions in collisions with different atoms and molecules - are evaluated at translational energies from 75 to 250 eV. Calculations are grounded on the assumption that the charge transfer products are repelled from one another due to Coulomb interaction between secondary ions and poorly screened cores of the resulting highly excited atoms. A distinguishing property of calculated angular dependences of scattering cross sections is an abrupt "dip" at the characteristic scattering angle of theta(o) = Delta T/2T, where Delta T is a change in the translational energy of the products, and T is the translational energy of an impinging ion. The requirements on the angular resolution of a detecting device are formulated, which must be met in order to verify the proposed mechanism of charge transfer.