Inelastic electron scattering induced quantum coherence: isotope effect

Abstract Recent discoveries of electron-induced coherence in both resonant and non-resonant interactions have introduced new perspectives in the field. In non-resonant processes, coherence has been observed in dipolar dissociation, where electron-induced excitation forms a coherent superposition of states of opposite parities, resulting in asymmetry in the angle-differential cross-section of the process relative to the incident electron beam. Notably, an isotope effect has been observed in D₂ at 50 eV, where heavier isotopes exhibit diminished asymmetry due to their longer dissociation times. Here, we report the isotope effect on quantum coherence in D₂ across different electron energies. Additionally, we investigate the role of coherence in the isotopologue HD. Our findings reveal that the asymmetric masses in HD do not influence electron-impact excitation, leading to similar asymmetry in the angular distributions of H⁻ and D⁻ ions. This observation is explained by the homonuclear-like behavior of HD within the Franck-Condon region.