Cold ion-atom chemistry driven by spontaneous radiative relaxation: a case study for the formation of the YbCa^{+} molecular ion

TL;DR

This paper investigates the formation of YbCa+ molecular ions through cold ion-atom collisions, focusing on radiative processes using quantum and semi-classical calculations.

Contribution

It provides new rate calculations for radiative association and charge transfer in Yb+ and Ca collisions at low temperatures.

Findings

Calculated radiative association and charge transfer rates.

Identified dominant pathways for molecular ion formation.

Quantified effects of spontaneous radiative relaxation.

Abstract

Using both quantum and semi-classical methods, we calculate the rates for radiative association and charge transfer in cold collisions of Yb+ with Ca.