Session J15 - Poster Session II.
POSTER session, Sunday morning, April 20
Congressional Hall, Renaissance
We have observed for the first time triple coincidences in the long range, Coulomb-interacting system of H^+ + H^+ + H^-. This system is used to study equal mass effects of the three-body Coulomb problem. We produce this system by colliding 4 keV H_3^+ with He. All three fragments from the collision are energy analyzed and angle resolved using a parallel plate energy analyzer equipped with position sensitive detectors. Using coincidence techniques to determine if all three fragments originated from the same H_3^+, we completely determine the dynamics of the H^+ + H^+ + H^- system. Specifically, we will determine in the center of mass frame of the three fragments the total energy available to the fragments, the partitioning of this energy among the fragments, and the correlation angle between the two protons, as well as the inelastic energy loss in the collision of the H_3^+ with the He target. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant PHY-9419505