Dielectronic recombination rate coefficients for the Ni ${\sf I}$ isoelectronic sequence

Ab initio calculations of the total dielectronic recombination (DR) rate coefficients for thirteen ions along the NiI isoelectronic sequence in the ground state (Kr⁸⁺, Mo¹⁴⁺, Ag¹⁹⁺, Sn²²⁺, Xe²⁶⁺, Nd³²⁺, Gd³⁶⁺, Yb⁴²⁺, W⁴⁶⁺, Au⁵¹⁺, Pb⁵⁴⁺, At⁵⁷⁺, and U⁶⁴⁺) have been performed using the flexible atomic code. The level-by-level calculations are performed for evaluating the DR contributions through the relevant Cu-like autoionizing inner-shell excited 3l¹⁷4l^′n^′′l^′′ and 3l¹⁷5l^′n^′′l^′′ configuration complexes with n^′′ ≤15, which are associated with Δn=1 and Δn=2 core-excitations, respectively. The usual (n^′′)^-3 scaling law is found to be invalid for low-Z ions. A level-by-level extrapolation procedure is employed to obtain the contributions through higher n^′′ complexes. The decays to autoionizing levels followed possibly by radiative cascades could enlarge the rates at relatively high temperature by a factor up to about 23%. For the whole isoelectronic ions the contributions from 3s²3p⁶3d⁹ 4l^′n^′′l^′′ dominate the total DR rates while the contributions from the 3s²3p⁶3d⁹ 5l^′n^′′l^′′ configuration complexes are about 10-20% at relatively high temperature. On the basis of the calculated results, a general analytic formula for the total DR rate coefficients of all the ions with 36≤Z ≤92 along the NiI isoelectronic sequence is constructed. The comparisons of the rates obtained from the general formula with those from the detailed calculations show that the formula is of high precision, generally better than 3% accuracy for electron temperatures kT≥0.1E_I, where E_I is the ionization energy of the Cu-like ion. The present DR rates at temperature above 1.0E_I are larger than the previously published data by a factor above 30%. The commonly used semiempirical formula proposed by Burgess and modified by Merts may overestimate the rates at high temperature by a factor of about 2 for low-Z ions.     

Angular distributions of scattered excited muonic hydrogen atoms

Coulomb deexcitation differential cross sections of excited muonic hydrogen in collisions with the hydrogen atom are studied for the first time. In the fully quantum-mechanical close-coupling approach, both the differential cross sections for the nl → n′l′ transitions and l-averaged differential cross sections have been calculated for the initial exotic atom states with n = 2–6 at kinetic energies of E _cm = 0.01–15 eV and for scattering angles of ϑ_cm = 0°–180°. The vacuum polarization shifts of the ns states are taken into account. The differential cross sections of the elastic and Stark scattering obtained in the same approach are also presented. The main features of the calculated differential cross sections are discussed, and a strong anisotropy of Coulomb deexcitation cross sections is predicted. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Energy and Oscillator Strength of V20+ Ion

The ionization potentials and fine structure splittings of 1s² nl (l = s, p, and d; n ⩽ 9) states for lithium-like V²⁰⁺ ion are calculated by using the full-core plus correlation (FCPC) method. The quantum defects of these three Rydberg series are determined according to the single-channel quantum defect theory (QDT). The energies of any highly excited states with n ⩾ 10 for these series can be reliably predicted using the quantum defects that are function of energy. The dipole oscillator strengths for the 1s²2s–1s² np and 1s²2p–1s² nd (n ⩽ 9) transitions of V²⁰⁺ ion are calculated with the energies and FCPC wave functions obtained above. Combining the QDT with the discrete oscillator strengths, the discrete oscillator strengths for the transitions from the given initial state to highly excited states (n ⩾ 10) and the oscillator strength density corresponding to the bound-free transitions are obtained. Translated from Chinese Journal of Atomic and Molecular Physics, 2005(2) (in Chinese)     

Electron impact excitation rate coefficients for Ni-like gadolinium

A detailed and large-scaled calculation is performed on the total electron impact excitation rate coefficients from the ground state to the 106 fine-structure levels in 3l^-14l^′ of Ni-like Gd³⁶⁺ employing the relativistic configuration-interaction distorted-wave approximation. The resonance contributions from 3l¹⁷4l^′n^′′l^′′ and 3l¹⁷5l^′n^′′l^′′ doubly-excited states of Cu-like Gd³⁵⁺ are taken into account using the isolated process and isolated resonances approximation. The effects of the radiative decays from the resonances are investigated carefully and are found to be significant. The present rate coefficients, as well as the collision strength, are compared extensively with the previously published results. We believe our results should be more accurate and reliable.     

The contribution ofK-electron capture for the production of highly charged Ne recoil ions by 156 MeV bromine impact

The recoil ion production cross sections in 2MeV/amu Br ⁿ⁺+Ne⁰→Br ^n′++Ne ^q+ were measured using a projectile ion — recoil ion coincidence technique where the final charge states of both collisions partners were detected simultaneously. Multiple ionization was found to be the dominant process for the production of low charge state recoil ions whereas the production of highly charged recoil ions is accompanied by electron capture from the Nek-shell. The derived ratio of single to double Ne-k electron capture probabilities indicates deviations from a binomial statistics distribution.     

Electron impact optical excitation of helium-like ions in Coulomb-Glauber approximation

The Coulomb-Glauber approximation is applied to evaluate the electron-impact excitation integrated cross sections for 1¹ S —n ¹ P (n=2, 3) transitions in helium-like ions, C⁴⁺, N⁵⁺, O⁶⁺ and Ne⁸⁺. The results are presented in terms of scaled collision strengthn ³ Z ² k _i ² σ and scaled integrated cross-sectionZ ⁴σ. Our values when compared with other available theoretical results are found to be larger than the Coulomb-Born and distorted wave polarised orbital (DWPO) values.     

Recombination experiments at CRYRING

Recent advances in studies of electron-ion recombination processes at low relative energies with the electron cooler of the heavy-ion storage ring CRYRING are shown. Through the use of an adiabatically expanded electron beam, collisions down to 10^-4eV relative energies were measured with highly charged ions stored in the ring at around 15 MeV/amu energies. Examples of recombination measurements for bare ions of D⁺, He²⁺, N⁷⁺, Ne¹⁰⁺ and Si¹⁴⁺ are presented. Further on, results of an experiment measuring laser-induced recombination (LIR) into n=3 states of deuterium with polarized laser light are shown. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Adiabatic Hyperspherical Approach to the Problems of Muon Catalyzed Fusion

The adiabatic hyperspherical approach (AHSA) is applied for the numerical investigation of the scattering processes and resonances in Coulomb three-body mesic atomic systems. The results of the calculations of elastic and inelastic cross sections in low-energy collisions aμ + b (a, b = p, d, t), energies, lifetimes and local characteristics of resonant states of mesic molecular ions ⁿ Heaμ⁺ (n = 3, 4) are presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transition energy and dipole oscillator strength of 1s23d- 1s2nf transitions for Sc18+ ion

The transition energies of the 1s²3d-1s² nf (4⩽n⩽9) transitions and fine structure splittings of 1s² nf (n⩽9) states for Sc¹⁸⁺ ion are calculated with the full-core plus correlation method. The quantum defect of 1s² nf series is determined by the single-channel quantum defect theory. The energies of any highly excited states with n⩾10 for this series can be reliably predicted using the quantum defect as function of energy. Three alternative forms of the dipole oscillator strengths for the 1s²3d-1s² nf (n⩽9) transitions of Sc¹⁸⁺ ion are calculated with the transition energies and wave functions obtained above. Combining the quantum defect theory with the discrete oscillator strengths, the discrete oscillator strengths for 1s²3d-1s² nf (n > 9) transitions and the oscillator strengths densities corresponding to the bound-free transitions are obtained. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Atomic and Molecular Physics, 2005, 22(4) (in Chinese)     

Electron impact total ionization cross sections of beryllium and boron isoelectronic ions

A simple user-friendly empirical formula is proposed to calculate the electron impact total single ionization cross sections of beryllium-like Be, B⁺, C²⁺, N³⁺, O⁴⁺, Ne⁶⁺, Fe²²⁺, Hg⁷⁶⁺, and U⁸⁸⁺ and boron-like B, C⁺, N²⁺, O³⁺, Ne⁵⁺, Fe²¹⁺, Kr³¹⁺, and Xe⁴⁹⁺ targets. A simplified and modified version of the Bell formula is used in the present model incorporating the ionic correction factor. The predicted ionization cross sections are compared with the available experimental and theoretical results. Excellent agreements are found for the incident energies ranging from threshold to 10⁶ eV considered herein. The presented results achieve a level of agreement that is better than the calculations from the existing theoretical methods and empirical models. Hence, this model may be an excellent choice, due to its simplicity, for the practitioners in the fields of applied sciences and technologies.     

On production of η′ mesons in pp collisions close to threshold

The near threshold behaviour of the reaction cross section for pp→ppη^′, recently measured in experiments at COSY and SATURNE, is analyzed. The interaction in the pp as well as in the η^′ p final states is taken into account. The suppression of the total cross section for this process at excess energies Q < 3 MeV observed in these experiments is interpreted as an evidence for a strong repulsive η^′ p interaction. Received: 26 May 1999 / Revised version: 8 July 1999     

Inelastic partial cross sections for scattering of HF by neon

An analytic expression of the potential energy surface (PES) of the ground state of the Ne-HF complex is obtained by utilizing nonlinear least square method to fit the intermolecular interaction energies [Zhang Y. Guizhou Science, 2003, 21(3): 9–13 (in Chinese)], which have been computed using the augmented correlation-consistent polarized quadruple zeta basis set aug-cc-pVQZ at the theoretical level of CCSD (T). On the basis of the PES, the partial cross sections (PCSs) at the incident energies of 60, 75, 100 and 150 meV for collisions between Ne atoms and HF molecules are calculated using the quantum close coupling approach. The effects of the long-range attractive and the short-range anisotropic interactions on the inelastic PCSs are discussed in detail. The results show: (1) The long-range attractive well of the EPS makes the significant contribution to the lower excitation PCSs, especially the tail maximum for j = 0→j′ = 1 transitions, whereas no contribution is to the j′⩾3 inelastic transitions. (2) The short-range (the repulsive and attractive) interaction makes the significant contribution to the lower excitation PCSs, especially the main peak for j = 0→j′ = 1, 2. As for the transitions of j′⩾3, the short-range interaction plays a key role in the inelastic excitation. (3) Although the positions of the maximums and minimums of the inelastic PCSs are different at the collision energies, they correspond to almost the same impact parameter. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10676025 and 10574096)     

Scaling of cross-sections for asymmetric (e, 3e) process on helium-like ions by fast electrons

An approximate simple scaling law is obtained for asymmetric (e, 3e) process on helium-like ions for double ionization by fast electrons. It is based on the equation (Z ^′3π) exp[-Z(r₁ + r₂)],Z′ = Z – (5/16) for ground state wave function of helium-like ions and Z^′2 scaling of energies. The scaling law is found to work very well if the lower energy electron is ejected along the momentum transfer direction and the other one is ejected in the opposite direction. It also works quite well if this electron is ejected within about 90° of the momentum transfer direction with the other electron going in the opposite direction. The scaling law becomes increasingly accurate as the target nuclear charge and the energy increase.     

Acceleration of pπ-atoms in a Coulomb de-excitation cascade

An improved adiabatic approach (IAA) previously proposed in atomic physics is extended to the case of collisions of mesic atoms in excited states n⩾2. The computed rates λ _nn′ ^C (E) of the Coulomb de-excitation processes (pπ)_n+p→(pπ) _n′+p are substantially different from the IAA results. It is shown that the Coulomb de-excitation rates λ _nn′ ^C are high enough to explain the appearance of pπ mesic atoms with kinetic energy ∼70 eV, which were observed in [J. E. Crawford, M. Daum, R. Frosch, et al., Phys. Lett. B 213, 391 (1988) and Phys. Rev. D 43, 46 (1991)]. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 3, 129–133 (10 August 1996)     

Electron Transitions during the Capture of an Electron by a He<Superscript>2+</Superscript> Ion at the Argon Atom

We have measured the absolute values of the total cross section of the one-electron capture by He²⁺ ions in the kinetic energy range 2–30 keV at the Ar atoms. The absolute values of the differential scattering cross sections of He⁺ ions formed during the one-electron capture and the electron capture with ionization at energies of 2.2, 5.4, and 30 keV have been determined. The electronic states of the formed ions have been determined using collision spectroscopy based on analysis of the change in the kinetic energy of He⁺ after the interaction. We have measured doubly differential (with respect to the kinetic energy and the scattering angle) cross sections of the formation of free electrons. The free electron formation channels (direct ionization and electron capture with ionization) have been analyzed by calculating the electron terms of the (HeAr)²⁺ system. The calculated cross section of capture with ionization is in conformity with the cross section measured using collision spectroscopy.     

Rotational excitation of CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> by He atoms

Quantum close-coupling and coupled-state approximation scattering calculations for rotational energy transfer of rotationally excited CH₄ due to collisions with He are presented for collision energies between 10⁻⁷ and 3000 cm⁻¹ using the MP4 potential of Calderoni et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 121, 8261 (2004)]. State-to-state cross sections and rate coefficients from selected initial rotational states of CH₄ in symmetries A, E, and F are studied from the ultra-cold to the thermal regime. Comparison of the cross sections with available theoretical results and experimental data show good agreement. Applications to astrophysics and cold laboratory environments are briefly addressed.     

Spectroscopy using stimulated electron–ion recombination

Spectroscopic results obtained on multiply charged few electron ions by using laser stimulated two-step recombination in ion storage rings are presented in an overview. Line splittings in transitions between Rydberg levels were observed for helium like and beryllium like ions. Emphasis is given to results on the beryllium like system N³⁺ where information about the splitting between high angular momentum levels (l⩾4) was obtained for the Rydberg levels n=13 and 8 with experimental errors of about ±0.02 meV. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthesis of superheavy nuclei in the reactions of 244Pu and 248Cm with 48Ca

This paper presents results of the experiments aimed at producing long-lived superheavy elements located near the spherical-shell closures with Z ⩾ 114 and N ⩾ 172 in the ²⁴⁴Pu + ⁴⁸Ca and ²⁴⁸Cm + ⁴⁸Ca reactions. The large measured α-particle energies of the newly observed nuclei, together with the long decay times and spontaneous fission terminating the chains, offer evidence of the decay of nuclei with high atomic numbers. The decay properties of the synthesized nuclei are consistent with the consecutive α-decays originating from the parent nuclides ^{288, 289}114 and ²⁹²116, produced in the 3n and 4n evaporation channels with cross-sections of about a picobarn. The present observations can be considered as experimental evidence of the existence of the “island of stability” of superheavy elements. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: utyonkov@sungns.jinr.ru     

Electron capture by slow multiply charged Ar and Ne ions from atomic hydrogen

At collision energies below 15 keV total charge transfer cross sections have been measured for multiply charged Ar^ζ+(2≦ζ≦6) and Ne^ζ+(2≦ζ≦4) ions colliding with atomic hydrogen. A Wood discharge was used to provide a hydrogen target with a sufficiently high degree of dissociation. Results are compared with measurements performed at higher energies and with theoretical calculations. For ζ=2 cross sections in atomic hydrogen are much smaller than in the molecular case, for ζ>2 the ratio of these cross sections varies between 0.7 and 1.6.