ELECTRON CONTINUA FROM 3-60 KEV LI-NE AND NA+-NE COLLISIONS()

Electron spectra from the Li+-Ne and Na+-Ne collisions have been measu red for collision energies from 3.5 to 60 keV, ejection angles of 20-1 60 degrees, and electron energies in the 5-150 eV range. In both syste ms the electron spectrum consists of a relatively large continuum supe rimposed by discrete fines arising from doubly-excited atomic states. For the Li+-Ne system the continuum part decreases exponentially with electron energy, with a slope inversely proportional to the collision velocity. The angular distribution is approximately symmetric in the c entre-of-mass system. For the Na+-Ne system the behaviour is more comp licated, in particular, the continuum part cannot be fitted with a sin gle exponential. The results are discussed in terms of recent models d eveloped for one-electron systems by Solov'ev, Ovchinnikov and collabo rators, describing the ionization process in terms of superpromotions, with the electron continuum being parametrized in terms of characteri stic properties related to avoided and so-called hidden crossings of t he quasimolecule.