Mainz 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 20: Poster – Molecular Collisions and Kinetics

MO 20.4: Poster

Mittwoch, 4. März 2026, 17:00–19:00, Philo 1. OG

Three-body reactions in cryogenic multipole traps — •Miriam Westermeier, •Gregor Rack, Michael Hauck, Sruthi Purushu Melath, Samuel J. M. White, Christian Sprenger, Robert Wild, Eric Endres, and Roland Wester — Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Austria

Three-body (3B) reactions are relevant for many different topics, such as atmospheric physics and cluster physics, especially at higher gas densities. As benchmarks for theoretical calculations, the 3B reaction of Ar⁺ + Ar + Ar and of alkali-water complexes are studied. The versatility of cryogenic ion traps makes them suitable for studying these 3B reactions and their temperature dependence [1, 2]. In our group, 3B reactions are researched on two different setups, both containing a cryogenic multipole trap. One setup is equipped with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source and the other with a plasma source. ESI sources are efficient in the production of water clusters, allowing the study of 3B reactions of these cluster ions. The ESI setup is currently undergoing changes to make it suitable for the higher pressures needed for the 3B reactions. The plasma source allows for the ionization of atoms with high ionization energy, and the trap has been optimized to study reactions with very low reactions rates. The 3B reaction Ar⁺ + Ar + Ar is studied on this setup and the recorded data shall be presented, together with an overview of the current experiments.

[1] S. Schlemmer et al., J. Chem. Phys. 116,11 (2002)

[2] R. Wild et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 125,39 (2021)

Keywords: Electrospray ionization source; Wiley-McLaren Time-of-flight; Plasma source; Three-body reactions