Optical spectra from Collisions of 128keV/amu O5+ projectiles on CO

Optical spectra in the range 400 to 800 nm from collisions of O$^{5+}$ with CO targets have been measured. Lines from atomic transitions are observed; however, the spectra are dominated by molecular emission from the CO$^{+}$ ion. These molecular lines are consistent with large cross sections for electron capture by highly charged O projectiles. The dominant molecular bands have been identified as the (A$^{2}\Pi $-X$^{2}\Sigma )$ band of the CO$^{+}$ molecular ion, which has been observed in comet tails. This research program is sponsored by NASA EPSCoR grant NCC5-601