Resonances and threshold phenomena in low-energy electron collisions with hydrogen halides: New experimental and theoretical results

Low-energy electron collisions with HCl and HBr and the deuterated compounds have been investigated by experimental and theoretical methods. New experimental results have been obtained on relative differential cross-sections for vibrational excitation and dissociative electron attachment. Measurements with high energy resolution for rotationally cooled molecules have revealed, in addition to shape resonance, threshold peaks and Wigner cusps, the existence of surprisingly sharp oscillatory structures in the elastic and v = 0 → 1 vibrational excitation cross-sections in a narrow range below the dissociative attachment threshold. The theoretical analysis is based on an improved nonlocal resonance model which has been constructed on the basis of ab initio fixed-nuclei scattering phase shifts for HCl and HBr and accurate ab initio calculations of the bound part of the HCl ^- and HBr ^- potential-energy functions. The high degree of agreement which has been obtained between experiment and theory for all channels indicates that the mechanisms responsible for the rich threshold structures in the collision cross-sections are completely understood.