Projectile-charge sign dependence of four-particle dynamics in helium double ionization

Development of a cold target recoil ion momentum spectrometer and a projectile charge state analyzer setup to study electron transfer processes in highly charged ion-atom/molecule collisions

We report the development and performance of a cold target recoil ion momentum spectrometer (COLTRIMS) setup at TIFR, which is built to study various atomic and molecular processes involving the interaction of slow, highly charged ions from an electron cyclotron resonance based ion accelerator. We give a detailed description of the experimental setup, as well as report some initial results on the electron-capture process in collisions of Ar⁸⁺ ions with helium and carbon monoxide targets. Here, we present the longitudinal momentum transfer and the sub-shell resolved Q-value spectrum in the case of 2, 4, and 6 keV/u Ar⁸⁺ beams in collision with helium. A longitudinal momentum resolution of 0.27 a.u. is achieved in the present system. We also report the state-selective scattering angle distributions for all the collision systems under investigation. We further discuss the fragmentation of the CO²⁺ molecular ions for different electron capture channels for the 5 keV/u Ar⁸⁺ beam. The combination of the COLTRIMS, along with the beam cleaner, the electrostatic deflectors, and the charge state analyzer, is shown to have certain advantages.

Ion-lithium collision dynamics studied with a laser-cooled in-ring target

We present a novel experimental tool allowing for kinematically complete studies of break-up processes of laser-cooled atoms. This apparatus, the 'MOTReMi,' is a combination of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and a reaction microscope (ReMi). Operated in an ion-storage ring, the new setup enables us to study the dynamics in swift ion-atom collisions on an unprecedented level of precision and detail. In the inaugural experiment on collisions with 1.5  MeV/amu O(8+)-Li the pure ionization of the valence electron as well as the ionization-excitation of the lithium target was investigated.

Strongly enhanced backward emission of electrons in transfer and ionization

We studied three-dimensional angular distributions and longitudinal momentum spectra of electrons ejected in transfer plus ionization (TI), i.e., the ejection of one and the capture of a second target electron, for ion-helium collisions. We observe a pronounced structure strongly focused opposite to the projectile beam direction, which we associate with a new correlated TI mechanism proposed recently. This process contributes significantly to the total cross sections over a broad range of perturbations η, even at η as large as 0.5, where uncorrelated TI mechanisms were thought to be dominant.

Complete breakup of the helium atom by proton and antiproton impact

We present a fully ab initio, nonperturbative, time-dependent approach to describe single and double ionization of helium by proton and antiproton impact. The problem is discretized by a flexible finite-element discrete-variable representation on the radial grid. Good agreement with the most recent experimental data for absolute angle-integrated cross sections is obtained for projectile energies between 3 keV and 6 MeV. Also, angle-differential cross sections for two-electron ejection are predicted for a proton impact energy of 6 MeV. The time evaluation of the ionization process is portrayed by displaying the electron density as a function of the projectile location.

(e,3e) on helium at low impact energy: the strongly correlated three-electron continuum

Double ionization of the helium atom by slow electron impact (E(0)=106 eV) is studied in a kinematically complete experiment. Because of a low excess energy E(exc)=27 eV above the double ionization threshold, a strongly correlated three-electron continuum is realized. This is demonstrated by measuring and calculating the fully differential cross sections for equal energy sharing of the final-state electrons. While the electron emission is dominated by a strong Coulomb repulsion, also signatures of more complex dynamics of the full four-body system are identified.

Three-dimensional images for electron-impact single ionization of He: complete and comprehensive (e, 2e) benchmark data

Comprehensive fully differential cross sections for electron emission into all three spatial dimensions are presented for 1 keV and 102 eV electron-impact single ionization of helium using an advanced reaction microscope. Surprising out-of-plane contributions, traced back to an interference term in a perturbation expansion by comparison with ion-impact data, severely challenge theoretical models that accurately predict coplanar emission. The data represent the ultimate benchmark for recently developed exact theoretical descriptions of the most fundamental three-body quantum problems.