Resonant charge exchange in slow collisions involving halogens and oxygen

The coupling of electron momenta is considered for the resonant charge exchange process in slow collisions. Because the electron transfer in this process occurs at large distances between the colliding atomic particles, where ion-atom interactions are relatively weak, we can separate different types of interaction and find the character of coupling of the electron momenta in the quasi-molecule, consisting of the colliding ion and its atom, for real collision pairs. Since the real number of interaction types for colliding particles exceeds that used in the classical Hund coupling scheme, there are intermediate cases of momentum coupling outside the standard Hund scheme. This occurs for the resonant charge exchange involving halogens and oxygen where the quantum numbers of the quasi-molecule in the course of the electron transfer are the total momenta J and j of the colliding ion and atom and the projection M or M_J of the atom orbital or total momentum on the quasi-molecule axis. The ion-atom exchange interaction potential is independent of the ion fine state, and under these conditions, the resonant charge exchange process is not entangled with the rotation of electron momenta, as in case “a” of the Hund coupling. The partial cross section of the resonant charge exchange process depends on quantum numbers of the colliding particles. The average cross sections depend weakly on the coupling scheme.     

Moment coupling in the interaction of atoms and their ions with a 3<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-electron shell

The moment coupling of an interacting ion and an atom with a 3d-electron shell is analyzed for the ground state of identical atoms and ions where resonant charge exchange proceeds with transition of a 4s-electron. The interaction of the ion charge with the atom quadrupole moment is important for this system along with the exchange interactions and spin-orbit interactions inside an isolated atom and an ion. The quadrupole moment for 3d-atoms in the ground states is evaluated. The hierarchy of interactions in a molecular ion is analyzed depending on ion-atom distances and is compared with the standard Hund scheme. The resonant charge exchange proceeds effectively at separations corresponding to an intermediate case between cases “a” and “c” of the Hund coupling scheme.     

Electron terms and resonant charge exchange involving oxygen atoms and ions

The electron terms are constructed for oxygen dimer ions at large ion-atom distances taking into account a certain scheme of summation of electron momenta on the basis of a hierarchy of various ion-atom interactions. Because the number of interaction types exceeds that in the Hund scheme, a realistic hierarchy of interactions and corresponding quantum numbers of the diatomic ion are outside the Hund coupling scheme. Electron terms are evaluated for the oxygen dimer ion in the case where the ground and first excited states of an atom and an ion belong to the respective valence electron shells p⁴ and p³ and correspond to the range of separations that determine the cross sections of resonant charge exchange in plasma. These electron terms allow us to calculate the partial and average cross sections for resonant charge exchange involving an oxygen ion and atom in the ground and first excited states in the range of collision energies of interest for oxygen plasmas. The specific features of electron terms of the oxygen ion dimer and the cross section of electron transfer are analyzed.     

Optical pumping of ions in buffer gases

Transient signals measured with a pulsed rf-optical pumping method are used to determine longitudinal relaxation rates for Sr⁺ ions (even isotopes) in noble gas buffers. Depolarization cross sections of the electronic spin in the Sr⁺5² S _1/2 ground state for binary collisions with rare gas atoms are deduced. The results for σ(Sr⁺5² S _1/2) in Ų are (at temperatures between 374 and 449 °K): 2·10^?5(He),4·10^?5(Ne), 5.7·10^?3(Ar), 1.8·10^?2(Kr), and 4.0·10^?2(Xe). These cross sections for the Sr⁺ ion are about two to three orders of magnitude larger than the corresponding ones for the isoelectronic neutral Rb atom. The large increase of the Sr⁺ relaxation rates is explained with the relaxation mechanism of spin-orbit coupling, taking into account two “indirect” effects of the ionic charge: the increase in the gas kinetic cross sections and the more intimate collisions of the Sr⁺ ion with the noble gas atoms. The depolarization is shown to be predominantly due to short-range interactions. A contribution to the relaxation of the Sr⁺ ion from Sr⁺-noble gas molecule formation, induced by three-body or resonant two-body collisions, could not be established for applied pressuresp between 1.5 and 15 Torr of Ar, Kr, and Xe.     

Total cross section measurements for charge exchange of He++ ions with He and Ar atoms

Total charge exchange cross sections were measured for He⁺⁺ in He and Ar gas in the energy range from 50 to 540 eV using a single beam apparatus. For He⁺⁺ in He the measured cross section is in agreement with calculations for symmetric resonant charge exchange. For He⁺⁺ in Ar the cross section for charge exchange decreases with decreasing energy below 300 eV. The measured cross section suggests the formation of Ar⁺ ions to be more important at lower energies and the production of Ar⁺⁺ to be dominant at higher energies.     

Cross sections of inelastic processes in collisions between relativistic structured heavy ions and atoms

A nonperturbative method is developed for the calculation of cross sections of inelastic processes in collisions between structured high-charge heavy ions moving at relativistic velocities and atoms. By structure ions are meant partly stripped ions consisting of an ion nucleus and a number of bound electrons which partly compensate the core charge and form the electron “coat” of the ion. The single ionization cross section of hydrogen atom and single and double ionization cross sections of helium atom are calculated. It is demonstrated that the inclusion of the extent of ion charge may bring about a marked variation of the respective cross sections compared to ionization by point ions of the same charge and energy.     

Multielectron ionization of atoms by fast ions: An approximation by normalized exponentials

Multielectron ionization of neutral atoms by fast positive ions is considered in terms of the independent particle model. A relatively simple technique for calculating the multielectron ionization probabilities and cross sections through the impact parameter is suggested in which one-electron ionization probabilities are represented as normalized exponentials p _nl(b) = p _nl(b) = p _nl(0)exp(?α_nl b), where b is the impact parameter and n and l are quantum numbers of the target atomic shell. Exponent α_nl is determined from the Born one-electron ionization cross section for target atoms, and preexponential p _nl(0) (the ionization probability at a zero impact parameter) is found from a geometrical model. This technique provides the normalization condition p _nl(b) ≤ 1 irrespective of the velocity and charge of striking ions and makes it possible to calculate the one-, two-, and three-electron ionization cross sections, which, when added up, make a major contribution to the total cross section, up to a factor of 2. The results of our computations are compared with experimental data and analytical results of other authors.     

Transfer of a weakly bound electron in collisions of Rydberg atoms with neutral particles. II. Ion-pair formation and resonant quenching of the Rb(nl) and Ne(nl) States by Ca, Sr, and Ba atoms

Electron-transfer processes are studied in thermal collisions of Rydberg atoms with alkaline-earth Ca(4s ²), Sr(5s ²), and Ba(6s ²) atoms capable of forming negative ions with a weakly bound outermost p-electron. We consider the ion-pair formation and resonant quenching of highly excited atomic states caused by transitions between Rydberg covalent and ionic terms of a quasi-molecule produced in collisions of particles. The contributions of these reaction channels to the total depopulation cross section of Rydberg states of Rb(nl) and Ne(nl) atoms as functions of the principal quantum number n are compared for selectively excited nl-levels with l ? n and for states with large orbital quantum numbers l = n ? 1, n ? 2. It is shown that the contribution from resonant quenching dominates at small values of n, and the ion-pair formation process begins to dominate with increasing n. The values and positions of the maxima of cross sections for both processes strongly depend on the electron affinity of an alkaline-earth atom and on the orbital angular momentum l of a highly excited atom. It is shown that in the case of Rydberg atoms in states with large l ～ n ? 1, the rate constants of ion-pair formation and collisional quenching are considerably lower than those for nl-levels with l ? n.     

Effect of the target density on the cross section of charge exchange between fast ions and atoms

When fast X^q+ X^{q^ + } ions collide with atomic or molecular targets, the total charge exchange cross section decreases with increasing target density. This is because the excitation levels of resulting X^{(q - 1)+} X^{(q - 1)^ + } ions are suppressed because of ionization by target atoms. The effect of target density on the total charge exchange cross section may amount to one order of magnitude or more depending on the charge and energy of an incident ion, as well as on the density and inner shell configuration of target atoms. Numerical calculations are performed for partial (in the principal quantum number n) cross sections σ(n) and total cross sections σ_tot=Σ_nσ(n) of charge exchange in the case of collisions of fast multiply charged ions having an energy E in the range 100 keV/u-10 MeV/u with gas or solid targets.     

Ionization of heavy ions in collisions with neutral atoms at relativistic energies

Ionization processes of heavy ions colliding with atoms and ions at relativistic energies are considered. Formulaes for calculating ionization cross sections in the Born approximation using momentum-transfer representation without regard to magnetic interactions are given as well as those in dipole and impulse approximations. Using the LOSS-R [25] and HERION codes, calculations of relativistic cross sections are performed for H-like multiply changed ions with the nuclear charge Z ≈ 80?90, colliding with neutral atoms and for multiply changed uranium ions colliding with protons and carbon atoms. The results of calculations are compared with available experimental data and calculations performed by other authors.     

Scaling properties of target excitation cross sections in collisions between atoms and multiply charged ions

The scaling properties of one-electron target excitation cross sections in collisions between atoms and multiply charged ions are investigated. For the example of bare-ion (Z)-hydrogen collisions with various charge numbers Z it is shown that, in many-state calculations for Z ≥ 2 and energies E/Z ≈ 15–100 keV/amu, calculated 2p excitation cross sections lie approximately on a universal curve. This curve deviates from the one which has been derived earlier by Janev and Presnyakov for all Z on the basis of a simplified three-state model, and in fact results from a consistent three-state treatment show no scaling. The scaling properties of the excitation cross sections are easily understood in a purely classical model of distant collisions.     

A new determination of the πN coupling constantf 2

The coupling constantf ² has been determined from forward dispersion relations for theπN helicity flip and no-flip amplitudes, using the recent information on total cross sections, phase shifts and charge exchange forward cross sections. The calculation gives also the values of the amplitudes and the first derivative at the crossing symmetry point.     

Ionization of heavy ions in relativistic collisions with neutral atoms

The problem of ionization of ions in ion-ion and ion-neutral relativistic collisions is considered. Formulas for ionization cross sections are derived in the Born approximation in terms of the momentum transfer without allowance for magnetic interactions. Using these formulas implemented in the LOSS-R code, the ionization cross sections are calculated for the K shells of neutral atoms colliding with protons and also for 1s and 2p electrons of multiply charged heavy ions (nuclear charge Z = 80−90) colliding with bare nuclei and neutral atoms. The calculation results are compared with experimental data and calculations of other authors.     

Temperature quenching of intracenter luminescence of Mn<Superscript>2+</Superscript> ions in diluted magnetic semiconductors

The Spectr-W³ database was developed in 2001–2013 and is available online (http://spectrw3. snz.ru). The database contains information on various spectroscopic constants of atoms and ions such as the wavelengths and probabilities of radiative transitions, energy levels of atoms and ions, ionization potentials, autoionization rates, and the parameters of analytical approximation of cross sections and rates of collisional transitions in atoms and ions. Spectr-W³ presently contains around 450 thousand records and is the world’s largest factual database on spectral properties of multicharged ions. A new stage of development of Spectr-W³, which involves adding a new section titled “Emission Spectrograms” to the database, commenced in 2014. In contrast to the already existing sections that contain tabulated data, this new section provides graphical data (with necessary explanatory notes) on the spectrograms of emission of atoms and ions excited in various plasma sources. The structure of sections of the Spectr-W³ database is characterized, and examples of queries and the corresponding search results are given.     

Departures from the Hauser-Feshbach theory due to the level-level correlations in deformed nuclei

A microscopic dynamical model is used for the inelastic scattering of nucleons by deformed nuclei and the fluctuation cross sections are calculated. The case of weak absorption in all channels is considered so that the number of statistical assumptions is minimized. The results are compared with the Hauser-Feshbach expressions as regards the magnitude and structure. The partial width amplitudes calculated from the model are correlated, the simplest type of level-level correlations being due to the similar-channels effect (SCE). When the correlations are due to SCE alone, the following two results are obtained, (i) The fluctuation cross sections are increased over the Hauser-Feshbach estimates, for Γ ? D and Γ ? D, by a factor κ if the entrance and exit channels are similar. The numerical value of κ is found to be 3 for a special case and in the general case it is conjectured to lie between the limits 1 and 3, (ii) The fluctuation cross sections σ_cc′^f1 and σ^f1_cc″ exhibit correlated fluctuations if the exit channels c′ and c″ are similar. The fluctuation cross sections in the cases “SCE+direct channel-channel coupling” and “SCE+intermediate structure” are also investigated. In all cases studied direct reaction cross sections do not vanish and the channelwise factorization assumption of the Hauser-Feshbach theory fails.     

Interrelation of the spin,orbital, and charge degrees of freedom in half-doped manganites

Based on the double-exchange model in the tight-binding approximation, self-consistent energy-band-structure calculations are carried out for the first time for the orbital and charge ordering in La_0.5Ca_0.5MnO₃-type manganites with 16 Mn ions in the unit cell under the assumption of a linear dependence of the Jahn-Teller splitting of the e _g level on the occupancy of each ion. The equilibrium magnetic and orbital configurations are determined by minimizing the total energy with respect to the direction of the local magnetic moments and the orbital states of the Mn ions. The dependence of the splitting on the occupancy favors the stabilization of phases with charge separation. This separation is an important factor determining the magnetic structure of the ground state. The ground state can be an insulating antiferromagnetic structure of the CE or G type or a new ferrimagnetic structure with a magnetization lower than that of a saturated ferromagnet by a factor of 2. The existence and the width of the bandgap in the electronic energy spectrum of the CE phase depend on the ratio between the values of the Hund exchange and the splitting. When the splitting is sufficiently large, the Jahn-Teller effect stabilizes the insulating state. The finite value of the Hund coupling also favors the stabilization of the CE phase for the realistic values of the interionic exchange and the hopping integral of itinerant electrons.     

Simple model for the ionization of helium atoms by fully and partially stripped ions in the strong interaction region

Theoretical calculations employing the modified over-barrier model to investigate single and double ionization cross sections of helium in collisions with highly charged ions are presented in the strong perturbation region. It shows the velocity and charge state dependences of cross sections, which coincides with the available experimental data. In order to determine the reliability of this model for partially stripped projectiles, the cross-section ratios have been measured for CZp+, OZp+-He (Zp=1-4) by the coincidence technique in the velocity range of 1-4.5 a.u. The calculated results are approximately in agreement with the experimental data.     

Optical solitons in dense resonant media

Exact single-soliton solutions of the modified system of Maxwell-Bloch equations, in which the dipole-dipole interactions of the atoms of a dense resonant medium are taken into account, are obtained. Two propagation regimes are analyzed: “coherent,” where the pulse duration is much shorter than both relaxation times (T _p ? T ₁, T ₂), and “incoherent,” where the pulse duration falls between the relaxation times (T ₂ ? T _p ? T ₁). It is predicted, for the first time, that soliton propagation of an ultrashort pulse is possible in a dense resonant absorbing medium in an incoherent interaction regime. The differences between the amplitude and phase characteristics of the solitons considered and the corresponding characteristics of the solitons for McCall-Hahn self-induced transparency are noted.     

Electron impact ionization rate coefficients and cross sections for highly ionized iron

Electron impact ionization cross sections for the ions Fe(XVII)-(XXVI) have been computed in a distorted wave exchange approximation. Analytic fits are provided for the cross section data, as well as for the rate coefficients assuming a Maxwellian electron velocity distribution. For ejection of a 2p ground state electron, the scaled ionization rate was found to depend linearly on the number of 2p electrons in the ion.