Measurement of the associative detachment reaction H- + H → H2 + e- using a merged-beams method

Abstract

Using a merged-beams method, we have performed absolute, energy-resolved measurements for the associative detachment reaction H- + H → H2 + e-. Our results remove a long-standing discrepancy between theory and experiment for this fundamental reaction. In particular, we find excellent agreement with theoretical results which previously seemed to be ruled out by a recent flowing afterglow experiment.