ALIGNMENT OF P- AND D-STATES OF THREE-ELECTRON CARBON IONS PRODUCED IN COLLISIONS OF C4+ (1s2 ) WITH H2

We have determined by means of V.U.V. spectroscopy the polarization of the (3l → 2l') transitions of the C3+* ion produced in C4+ - H2 collisions, in the 0.2≤v≤0.5 a.u velocity range. The polarization fraction, quantitatively discussed in terms of alignment of the orbital momentum substates, shows that the ml substates, in the n=3 shell of C3+* are not populated equally by the electron capture process. For the 3p- and the 3d-states the polarization increases with the energy, and indicates, for capture to the 3p-state, a dominant population of the ml=0 substate