The electron-capture process was studied for ${\mathrm{Xe}}^{54+}$ colliding with ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ molecules at the internal gas target of the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI, Darmstadt. Cross-section values for electron capture into excited projectile states were deduced from the observed emission cross section of Lyman radiation, being emitted by the hydrogenlike ions subsequent to the capture of a target electron. The ion beam energy range was varied between 5.5 and 30.9 MeV/u by applying the deceleration mode of the ESR. Thus, electron-capture data were recorded at the intermediate and, in particular, the low-collision-energy regime, well below the beam energy necessary to produce bare xenon ions. The obtained data are found to be in reasonable qualitative agreement with theoretical approaches, while a commonly applied empirical formula significantly overestimates the experimental findings.

• Received 19 May 2020
• Accepted 10 September 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.102.042825

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Published by the American Physical Society