Collisional breakup in a quantum system of three charged particles
Since the invention of quantum mechanics, even the simplest example of the collisional breakup of a system of charged particles, e(-) + H --> H(+) + e(-) + e(-) (where e(-) is an electron and H is hydrogen), has resisted solution and is now one of the last unsolved fundamental problems in atomic physics. A complete solution requires calculation of the energies and directions for a final state in which all three particles are moving away from each other. Even with supercomputers, the correct mathematical description of this state has proved difficult to apply. A framework for solving ionization problems in many areas of chemistry and physics is finally provided by a mathematical transformation of the Schrodinger equation that makes the final state tractable, providing the key to a numerical solution of this problem that reveals its full dynamics.
Rescigno
TN
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Physics Directorate, Livermore, CA 94551, USA. Department of Applied Science, University of California, Davis, Livermore, CA 94550, USA. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Computing Sciences, Berke.
Baertschy
M
Isaacs
WA
McCurdy
CW