Collisional autoionization dynamics of Ne∗(3P2,0)–H2O

The autoionization dynamics of water molecules induced by Ne*(3P2,0) collisions has been studied. The energy dependence of the total ionization cross section is measured together with relative abundances of product ions in the 0.05–0.15 eV range. The data are analyzed by using an optical potential model within a semiclassical approach. The real part of the potential is formulated applying a semiempirical method, while the imaginary part has been used in the fitting procedure of the data adjusting its pre- exponential factor. The good agreement between calculations and experiment confirms the attractive nature of the potential energy surface driving the Ne*–H2O dynamics.