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Phys. Rev. A 65, 030703(R) (2002) [4 pages]

Classical description of the electron capture to the continuum cusp formation in ion-atom collisions

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Clara Illescas, B. Pons*, and A. Riera
Laboratorio de Física Atómica y Molecular en Plasmas de Fusión Nuclear, Asociado al Laboratorio de Fusión por Confinamiento Magnético, Departamento de Química, C-IX, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Canto Blanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Received 17 October 2001; published 27 February 2002

Classical calculations are used to describe the dynamics of the electron capture to the continuum (ECC) cusp formation in H++He collisions. We illustrate the frontier character of the ECC electrons between capture and ionization, and confirm that it is a temporary capture, through projectile focusing, that is responsible for the ECC cusp. Furthermore, the cusp is not a divergence smoothed by the experiment, and is slightly shifted from the impact-velocity value because of the residual pull from the target after ionization. This shift is larger the smaller the nuclear velocity.

© 2002 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.65.030703
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevA.65.030703
PACS:
34.70.+e

*Permanent address: CELIA, UMR 5107 du CNRS, Université de Bordeaux-I, 351 Cours de la Libération, F-33405 Talence, France.