Fig. 5: Trajectory surface-hopping calculations.

a Adiabatic potential energy curves at R = 7 Å (R is the distance between Ar and N2 center of mass). The red and blue dashed lines are corresponding to N2(v = 0) level in the Ar+(2P3/2) + N2 and Ar+(2P1/2) + N2 channels, respectively. The three black dashed lines represent the v′ = 0, 1, 2 vibrational levels of N2+ in the Ar + N2+(X) channel, respectively. b Distribution of largest r (the N–N distance) when the initial state is \({{{{{{\rm{Ar}}}}}}}^{+}({}^{2}{{{{{\rm{P}}}}}}_{3/2})+{{{{{{\rm{N}}}}}}}_{2}\) at Ec = 1.59 eV or \({{{{{{\rm{Ar}}}}}}}^{+}({}^{2}{{{{{\rm{P}}}}}}_{1/2})+{{{{{{\rm{N}}}}}}}_{2}\) at Ec = 1.58 eV; c, d Correlation plots between impact parameters and scattering angle (θ) for v′ = 1 and 2 of N2+.