The award supports two visits by Dr. Philip R. Brooks of Rice University to the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, to work with Dr. Peter W. Harland on complementary experiments probing the effects of molecular orientation during collision. At Rice, collisional ionization (or "electron transfer collisions") are being studied at energies of a few eV, and the group at Canterbury is initiating studies of electron bombardment ionization of oriented molecules. In both these studies, molecules in molecular beams are state-selected in an inhomogeneous electric field, and then oriented in a weak uniform electric field. The orientation can thus be specified (and changed) to study its effect on various collisional processes. The need to orient molecules and to guide charged particles into or away from the collisional region is common to both programs. The Rice group has extensive experience in charged particle optics and mass spectrometry. This complementary expertise in ongoing research justifies this cooperative research.
