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Electron–Ion, Ion–Ion, and Neutral–Neutral Recombination Processes

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Springer Handbook of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

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Abstract

This chapter collects together the formulae, expressions, and specific equations that cover various aspects, approximations, and approaches to electron–ion, ion–ion and neutral–neutral recombination processes. The primary focus is on recombination processes in the gas phase, both at thermal energies and in ultracold regimes.

Recombination processes are ubiquitous in nature. These reactions occur in a wide variety of applications and are an important formation or loss mechanism of atoms and molecules. To illustrate the types of problems where recombination is important, we enumerate six broad areas in which recombination processes occur: (a) collisional-radiative recombination processes, involving hydrogen and helium, which are important in understanding the cosmic microwave background in cosmology 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; (b) radio recombination lines involving electrons and ions, which are central to understanding the observed spectra from interstellar clouds and planetary nebulae 4 ; 5 ; (c) recombination processes, involving electrons and holes are important in semiconductors 6 ; 7 ; (d) electron–ion and ion–ion recombination processes, which are important in understanding the properties of plasmas, whether they are in the upper atmosphere, the solar corona, or industrial reactors on earth 8 ; 9 ; 10 ; (e) atom–molecule recombination involving oxygen, which are important mechanism for forming ozone 11 ; and, finally, (f) three-body recombination processes, involving neutral bosons, which are an important loss mechanism in ultracold Rydberg atom collisions, leading to the depletion of the Bose Einstein condensate (BEC) 12 ; 13 ; 14 .

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eikonal Research Institute, Bend, OR, USA

    Edmund J. Mansky II

  2. School of Physics, Georgia Instititute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    M. Raymond Flannery

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  1. Edmund J. Mansky II
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  2. M. Raymond Flannery
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Correspondence to Edmund J. Mansky II .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Physics, University of Windsor, N9B 3P4, Windsor, ON, Canada

    Gordon W. F. Drake

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Mansky II, E.J., Flannery, M.R. (2023). Electron–Ion, Ion–Ion, and Neutral–Neutral Recombination Processes. In: Drake, G.W.F. (eds) Springer Handbook of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73893-8_58

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