Symmetric eikonal model for projectile-electron excitation and loss in relativistic ion-atom collisions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a symmetric eikonal model for accurately describing projectile-electron excitation and loss in high-energy ion-atom collisions, improving upon previous approximations at energies above a few GeV/u.

Contribution

The paper generalizes the symmetric eikonal model to include atomic electrons, providing an exact transition amplitude at high energies for projectile-electron processes in heavy ion collisions.

Findings

Model is exact at asymptotically high energies.

Advantages over first Born approximation at 1-30 GeV/u.

Applicable to future high-energy atomic physics experiments.

Abstract

At impact energies $ \stackrel{>}{\sim}1$ GeV/u the projectile-electron excitation and loss occurring in collisions between highly charged ions and neutral atoms is already strongly influenced by the presence of atomic electrons. In order to treat these processes in collisions with heavy atoms we generalize the symmetric eikonal model, used earlier for considerations of electron transitions in ion-atom collisions within the scope of a three-body Coulomb problem. We show that at asymptotically high collision energies this model leads to an exact transition amplitude and is very well suited to describe the projectile-electron excitation and loss at energies above a few GeV/u. In particular, by considering a number of examples we demonstrate advantages of this model over the first Born approximation at impact energies $\sim 1$--30 GeV/u, which are of special interest for atomic physics experiments at the future GSI facilities.