Studies of charge exchange in symmetric ion–ion collisions

We have measured the total cross sections for single charge exchange in He– He, Ne–Ne and Ar–Ar collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 1.8–14.8, 1.8–10.8 and 2.8–7.3 keV, respectively, using an intersecting beam technique. The results for He–He collisions are compared with existing measurements and calculations. For Ne–Ne and Ar–Ar the measured cross sections are compared with results from new close-coupling calculations based on a one-electron model potential description of the collision system.