Electron capture and loss by kilo-electron-volt oxygen atoms in collisions with He, H₂, N₂, and O₂

Absolute differential cross sections are reported for electron capture and loss by (1–5)-keV oxygen atoms incident on He, H₂, N₂, and O₂ for scattering angles between 0.02° and 1.73° in the laboratory frame. The form of the differential cross sections is seen to vary significantly with energy and between different targets. Differences between the present O-atom electron-loss cross sections and those for H atoms reported previously imply that the underlying physical mechanism may not be the same. The integral cross sections, also reported here, are consistent with most previous studies. The consensus of the available electron-loss data suggests that the cross sections of Fogel et al. [ Soviet Phys. JETP 35 601 (1959)] are in error.