STATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PENNING IONIZATION IN THE HE(2-S-3)-D-2 COLLISION SYSTEM

Vibrational population factors for the nascent Penning ions D-2(+)(ups ilon')(... He) and energy of the Penning electrons are calculated for the ionization event He(2(3)S)-D-2(upsilon ''=0) --> [He D-2(+)(upsilo n')] + e(-) taking place at a range of the He-D-2 separations and ori entations accessible by the system during low-energy collisions. The v ibrational populations are obtained from the local widths of the He(2( 3)S)-D-2(upsilon ''=0) state with respect to autoionization to D-2(+)( ... He) in its vth vibrational level. The resulting initial overall pi cture of the autoionization event is consistent with the very accurate Penning electron spectra of the He(2(3)S)-H-2(upsilon ''=0) system. O n the other hand, the population factors are different from the approx imate average populations used in model considerations about the Penni ng processes in the system. Sample dynamical calculations on the syste m are presented, yielding a similar picture of the autoionizing event. The calculated static quantities vary quite smoothly with changes in the He-D-2 separations and orientations, thus indicating that the ana lytical representations of the present 2D surfaces might form a sound basis for future detailed study of the dynamics of the collision syste m.