https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2006-00201-5
Competing processes for electron capture to continuum in relativistic ion-atom collisions
Mathematics Institute, University of Munich, Theresienstrasse 39, 80333 Munich, Germany
Corresponding author: a doris.jaku@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Received:
6
April
2006
Revised:
3
July
2006
Published online:
6
September
2006
The relative importance of the two mechanisms for the capture of a target electron by a fast, heavy projectile, radiative ionization (RI) and Coulomb capture to continuum (ECC), is studied in the vicinity of the forward peak. For both processes a consistent relativistic description, based on the impulse approximation, is provided. It is found that the differential cross-sections scale with the projectile charge and exhibit a common velocity dependence. As a result, RI starts to dominate over ECC near the same impact energy (~11 MeV/amu) for arbitrary bare projectiles colliding with hydrogen. For electrons from the inner shells of heavier targets this energy increases, however, which is confirmed by a coincidence experiment on 90 MeV/amu U88+ + N2.
PACS: 34.70.+e – Charge transfer / 41.60.-m – Radiation by moving charges
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2006