Experimental Results for H2 Formation from H- and H and Implications for First Star Formation.

We have performed the first energy-resolved measurement of the associative detachment (AD) reaction H^- + H → H₂^- → H₂ + e^-, which is the dominant process forming molecular hydrogen in the early universe. We find excellent agreement between our measurements and the most recent theoretical calculation of the AD process. We also present model calculations of the formation of protogalaxies in the early universe uitilizing the experimentally confirmed rate coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]