Ion production by positron-molecule resonances

Ion production by low-energy positrons in low-density gases was reported by Passner, Surko, Mills, and Leventhal [Phys. Rev. A 39, 3706 (1989)]. That work studied the ionization of hydrocarbons in a positron trap in the presence of a buffer gas of molecular nitrogen. We present further analysis of the data from this experiment, taking into consideration the ionization of the hydrocarbons by nitrogen ions created as a result of the positron trapping process. We conclude that ionization by positrons was the dominant ion production mechanism at times longer than the characteristic ion confinement time of approximately 1 s, while ionization by nitrogen charge exchange was dominant at earlier times. The details of the ionization spectra are also discussed.