Collision-induced dissociation of ∼2-MeV O3+ and N3+ ions

We present a study into the collision-induced dissociation (possibly including electron stripping) of O3+ and N3+ with rest gas molecules (predominantly H₂) in the heavy-ion storage ring CRYRING. The projectile ions had kinetic energies of 1.96 MeV (O3+) and 2.25 MeV (N3+) and from the experimental data we could derive the relative importance of the channels that produce at least one neutral product fragment. The dominant type of fragmentation for both ions involves the production of a single neutral fragment, namely an individual atom. We also find pronounced dissimilarities when comparing the O3+ and N3+ results, which we link to the stronger chemical bonds in the nitrogen system.