The charge transfer reaction Ar+ + N2 --> Ar + N2+ has been investigated in a
crossed beam experiment in combination with three-dimensional velocity map
imaging. Angular differential state-to-state cross sections were determined as
a function of the collision energy. We found that scattering into the first
excited vibrational level dominates as expected, but only for scattering in the
forward direction. Higher vibrational excitations up to v'=6 have been observed
for larger scattering angles. For decreasing collision energy, scattering into
higher scattering angles becomes increasingly important for all kinematically
allowed quantum states. Our detailed measurements indicate that a quantitative
agreement between experiment and theory for this basic ion-molecule reaction
now comes within reach.Comment: accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
