The Physics of Slow, Highly Charged Ion Atom Collisions

Abstract

This review, and also the following discussions, will be limited to collisions in a velocity range where the typical effects caused by the large amount of “potential energy”, carried into a collision system in the form of the recombination energy of the highly charged ion A^q+, are not too strongly perturbed by effects caused by the collision velocity. This velocity region may be characterized by the condition ν_coll≲ 1 a.u. for capture of the outer-shell electrons of neutral target atoms B. Further, we will limit ourselves to processes involving more than one “active electron”. Single capture processes have been recently reviewed [1], and extensive information on the recent development of the field of multiple capture can best be obtained from the proceedings of three conferences [2–4] devoted to this subject. Here we only summarize the most important steps in the development during the last years in order to have a basis for the following somewhat more detailed outline of our present understanding of the physics of multiple capture processes.