Probing the Helium Dimer by Relativistic Highly Charged Projectiles.

We study the fragmentation of He_{2} dimers into He^{+} ions by relativistic highly charged projectiles. We demonstrate that the interaction between an ultrafast projectile with an extremely extended object-the helium dimer-possesses interesting features that are absent in collisions with "normal" molecules. We also show that such projectiles, due to their enormous interaction range, can accurately probe the ground state of the dimer and even be used for a determination of its binding energy.

Electron- and proton-impact excitation of hydrogenlike uranium in relativistic collisions.

The K shell excitation of H-like uranium (U(91+)) in relativistic collisions with different gaseous targets has been studied at the experimental storage ring at GSI Darmstadt. By performing measurements with different targets as well as with different collision energies, we were able to observe for the first time the effect of electron-impact excitation (EIE) process in the heaviest hydrogenlike ion. The large fine-structure splitting in H-like uranium allowed us to unambiguously resolve excitation into different L shell levels. State-of-the-art calculations performed within the relativistic framework which include excitation mechanisms due to both protons (nucleus) and electrons are in good agreement with the experimental findings. Moreover, our experimental data clearly demonstrate the importance of including the generalized Breit interaction in the treatment of the EIE process.

Polarization and interference effects in ionization of Li by ion impact.

We present initial-state selective fully differential cross sections for ionization of lithium by 24 MeV O8+ impact. The data for ionization from the 2s and 2p states look qualitatively different from each other and from 1s ionization of He. For ionization from the 2p state, to which in our study the m(L)=-1 substate predominantly contributes, we observe orientational dichroism and for 2s ionization pronounced interference which we trace back to the nodal structure of the initial-state wave function.

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.

Young-type interference in projectile-electron loss in energetic ion-molecule collisions.

Under certain conditions an electron bound in a fast projectile ion, colliding with a molecule, interacts mainly with the nuclei and inner shell electrons of atoms forming the molecule. Because of their compact localization in space and distinct separation from each other, these molecular centers play in such collisions a role similar to that of optical slits in light scattering leading to pronounced interference in the spectra of the electron emitted from the projectile.

Two-center resonant photoionization.

Photoionization of an atom A, in the presence of a neighboring atom B, can proceed both directly and via resonant excitation of B with subsequent energy transfer to A through two-center electron-electron correlation. We show that in such a case the photoionization process can be very strongly enhanced and acquire interesting characteristic features, both in its time development and the electron spectrum.

Two-center double-capture interference in fast He2+ + H2 collisions.

We report the first observation of Young-type interference effects in a two-electron transfer process. These effects change strongly as the projectile velocity changes in fast (1.2 and 2.0 MeV) He(2+) + H(2) collisions as manifested in strong variations of the double-electron capture rates with the H(2) orientation. This is consistent with fully quantum mechanical calculations, which ignore sequential electron transfer, and a simple projectile de Broglie wave picture assuming that two-electron transfer probabilities are higher in collisions where the projectile passes close to either one of the H(2) nuclei.

Inelastic collisions of relativistic electrons with atomic targets in a laser field.

We consider collisions of relativistic electrons with atomic targets in a laser field assuming that the parameters of the latter are such that the field does not influence the target directly. Concentrating on target transitions we show that they can be substantially affected by the presence of the laser field. This may occur either via strong modifications in the motion of the relativistic electrons caused by the laser field or via the Compton effect when the incident electrons convert laser photon(s) into photons with frequencies equal to target transition frequencies.

Recoil-ion momentum distributions for two-photon double ionization of He and Ne by 44 eV free-electron laser radiation.

Recoil-ion momentum distributions for two-photon double ionization of He and Ne (variant Planck's over omega=44 eV) have been recorded with a reaction microscope at FLASH (the free-electron laser at Hamburg) at an intensity of approximately 1 x 10(14) W/cm2 exploring the dynamics of the two fundamental two-photon-two-electron reaction pathways, namely, sequential and direct (or nonsequential) absorption of the photons. We find strong differences in the recoil-ion momentum patterns for the two mechanisms pointing to the significantly different two-electron emission dynamics and thus provide serious constraints for theoretical models.

Doubly inelastic collisions with relativistic heavy ions and target recoil momentum spectroscopy.

We consider relativistic collisions of heavy hydrogenlike ions with hydrogen and helium atoms in which the ion-atom interaction causes both colliding particles to change their internal states. Concentrating on the study of the longitudinal momentum spectrum of the atomic recoil ions, we discuss the role of relativistic and higher order effects, predict a surprisingly strong influence of the projectile's electron on the momentum transfer, and show that the important information about the doubly inelastic collisions could be obtained in experiment merely by measuring the recoil momentum spectrum.

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.

Electron impact ionization in the presence of a laser field: a kinematically complete (ngammae,2e) experiment.

Single ionization of He by 1 keV electron impact in the presence of an intense (I=4 x 10(12) W/cm(2)) laser field (lambda=1064 nm) has been explored in a kinematically complete experiment using a reaction microscope. Distinct differences in the singly to fully differential cross sections compared to the field-free situation are observed which cannot be explained by a first-order quantum calculation. Major features, such as the number of photons exchanged and the modification of the energy spectrum of emitted electrons, can be understood qualitatively within a simple classical model.

Radiation field and resonant two-center dielectronic transitions in relativistic ion-atom collisions.

We consider projectile-electron excitation and loss in relativistic collisions of ionic projectiles with excited atoms. We show that under certain conditions electron transitions in the ion and atom can be resonantly coupled in the collision via the radiation field. The resonance becomes possible due to the Doppler effect, has a well-defined impact energy threshold, and clearly manifests itself in the cross sections. Since the range of the ion-atom interaction in the resonance case is very long, the presence of other atoms in the target medium as well as the size of the space occupied by the medium have to be taken into account. As a result, the cross section may become dependent on the density of the target atoms and/or the target size.

Mutual projectile-target ionization via the two-center dielectronic interaction in relativistic ion-atom collisions.

We study mutual ionization in relativistic collisions between hydrogenlike projectiles and helium atoms: X(Z+)(1s)+He(1s(2))-->X((Z+1)+)+ He+(1s)+2e(-). At high collision velocities and for not too heavy projectiles, 2Z/v<<1 (v is the collision velocity), the mutual ionization proceeds via the direct interaction between two electrons bound (initially) to different colliding particles. Considering for the first time this fundamental process in the case of relativistic collisions, we calculate ionization cross sections and discuss manifestations of relativistic effects. In particular, we predict two novel and interesting phenomena: (i) considerable relativistic effects in collisions with low Lorentz factors gamma and (ii) the rapid saturation of these effects at higher gamma. Estimates show that the predicted effects can be experimentally tested using existing facilities and spectrometers.

Double ionization of helium by electron-impact: complete pictures of the four-body breakup dynamics.

The dynamics of He double ionization by 2 keV electron impact is studied experimentally for a momentum transfer of 0.6 a.u. at excess energies of 10 and 40 eV. Complete sets of fivefold differential cross sections are presented for all electron emission angles in coplanar geometry. Contributions beyond the first Born approximation are identified comparing experimental data with first order convergent close-coupling calculations which are in considerably better agreement with the present experiment than with the earlier measurement of Kheifets et al. [J. Phys. B 32, 5047 (1999)].