Abstract Electron capture between solar wind ions and neutral species has contributed to the understanding of X-ray production from solar system bodies. The charge transfer and excitation processes in solar wind ions of He+(1s) colliding with Li(1s22s) atoms are studied by utilizing the full quantum-mechanical molecular-orbital close-coupling (QMOCC) method with impact energies of 0.003– 2 keV amu−1. Comparisons of cross sections from single- and multi-configurational calculations for a selfconsistent field (SCF and MCSCF) process are carried out. Results show that the dominant reaction channels are He(1s2l 1,3L) + Li+(1s2 1S). Good consistency is found among present total and state-selective charge transfer and excitation cross sections with other theoretical and experimental data in the same energy region. Due to the differences between coupling matrix elements in high-energy states, the charge transfer cross sections calculated from SCF and MCSCF split slightly as E > 0.4 keV amu−1. Weak Stueckelberg oscillations for charge transfer appear in the present work. In addition, the differences of cross sections for electron excitation to Li(1s22p) in the singlet/triplet molecular states with He+(1s) are much smaller than those of charge transfer processes because of the similar energy gaps from Li(1s22p) to the ground state in singlet/triplet states in the large R region.
Keywords Sun: solar wind — ISM: molecules — ISM: kinematics and dynamics — molecular processes
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