LAUSR

Electron-induced dissociative excitation (DE) is a little studied process of significant applied relevance. Our aim is to provide a theoretical counterpart to earlier experiments [M. J. Jensen, R. C. Bilodeau, O. Heber, H. B. Pedersen, C. P. Safvan, X. Urbain, D. Zajfman, and L. H. Andersen, Phys. Rev. A 60, 2970 (1999)] on DE of H$_2$O$^+$. For this purpose, we have performed low-energy fixed-nuclei scattering calculations, based on the R-matrix method, for over 1800 geometries of H$_2$O$^+$. We have identified and characterized three resonances lying above the second (B) excited state of H$_2$O$^+$; their energy, lifetime, and associated quantum defect have been determined. We assess their possible contribution to the DE process.