Multiple electron capture processes between highly charged ions and molecules

We have determined the absolute cross sections for one electron capture and total electron capture between slow, highly charged ions and multi-electron molecule targets (H2, N2, CO, CO2, CH4) under single collision conditions. It is found that the cross sections increase as the charge of the projectile ions increases and as the ionization potential of the target molecules decreases, as previously observed in rare gas targets. Furthermore, we have found that a scaling law previously proposed for atoms, which is based on the extended classical over barrier model, can also reproduce our data for molecular targets.