title: Collisional breakup in a quantum system of three charged particles
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Rescigno
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baertschy
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Isaacs
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: McCurdy