Eur. Phys. J. D 35, 417-428 (2005)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2005-00233-3

Modelling electron-induced processes in “condensed” formic acid

Resonant states of (HCOOH)₂^- at low energies

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Rome La Sapienza, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
² Department of Chemistry, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3255, USA
³ Institut für Chemie-Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustraße 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany

Corresponding author: ^a fa.gianturco@caspur.it

Received: 11 April 2005
Revised: 6 June 2005
Published online: 23 August 2005

Abstract

Quantum calculations and experiments with molecular beams have been carried out for the Formic Acid dimeric structures colliding with a beam of slow (<20 eV) electrons. The corresponding computed S-matrix poles, seen as signatures for the formation of transient negative ions, allow us to assign the resonances to specific doorway states which are suggested to be responsible for the fragmentation patterns observed in the present experiments and in earlier measurements carried out both in molecular beams and with films of formic acid. We further show the computed behaviour of partial cross-sections and partial eigenphase sums for the dominant symmetry components.