First observation of RDEC for gas (N2) targets with F9

Abstract Radiative double electron capture (RDEC) is a fundamental atomic process predicted to occur in ion-atom collisions. Several attempts were made to show experimental evidence for RDEC after it was introduced theoretically in 1987. The first successful measurements were done for O 8+ ions colliding with a thin carbon foil in 2010, followed by measurements for F 9+ projectiles incident on carbon. The works reported here are the first observations giving preliminary results for RDEC in collisions of F 9+ projectiles with gas (N 2 ) targets. X-rays were observed in the region of interest and an estimation of RDEC cross section was calculated. These cross sections are compared with recent theoretical calculations.