Study of quasi-resonant neutralization of low energy H+ ion colliding with rare-gas solid surfaces in terms of hole localization and delocalization

It is useful to consider the electron capture by H+ ions in terms of the hole capture by targets. Although Ar, Kr and Xe rare-gas solids are the closed-electron-shell material, the valence band is formed because of a weak covalent bonding among neighboring atoms. The electrons in the valence band are immobile, but the hole captured by target atoms from H+ ion can dissipate. If the hole dissipates into the bulk before being recaptured by neutralized H, the ion survival probability is significantly decreased. The time scale of this hole dissipation can compete with the time scale of collisional interaction in the impact energy range of 10–500 eV. As a result, the neutralization probability strongly depends on the collision velocity and the valence-band width. The hole delocalization effect can explain the experimental observations: significantly smaller ion survival probability for Kr and Xe solid surfaces than that for a Ar solid surface, and the related phenomenon.