Coupled channel analysis of inner-shell vacancy formation in superheavy quasimolecules

We calculate the ionization probability of the quasimolecular 1sσ-state in collisions of very heavy ions with (Z ₁+Z ₂) α?1. Multistep excitation processes between bound and continuum states are investigated. Due to the multistep processes the number of created 1sσ-vacancies is typically increased by a factor 2–5 over that obtained within time-dependent perturbation theory (i.e. the one-step processes). Some implications of the many-electron problem and the Pauli principle are discussed. The δ-electron distribution is compared with recent experimental data.