Antiproton Delayed Annihilation: the Problem of the Description in Isolated Atom Model and Other Possible Scenarios

Abstract

The internal Auger de-excitation mechanism in the cluster (e ⁻ $\bar{p}$He⁺⁺) is examined in terms of the coupled channels approach. An important feature of $\bar{p}$He⁺ atom is that there are two types of three-body clusters with drastically different Auger widths. The significant importance of virtual cascade Auger mechanism is shown, especially in case of multielectron atoms. The lifetime of fraction of antiprotons, stopped in Li, is estimated to be no longer than 10⁻⁷ s.