Hydrogen and helium charge exchange collisions at kiloelectronvolt energies: an electron–nuclear dynamics review

Abstract

The electron transfer processes that occur during the collision of ions with atomic and molecular systems are of fundamental importance in the understanding of neutralization, fragmentation and bond rearrangement. In this work we present a review of the actual state in charge exchange processes in the few electronvolts up to several kiloelectronvolts within the electron-nuclear dynamics approach. We present the effects of single and double electron capture on stopping power, molecular fragmentation, differential and total cross sections. For the case of α particles, we present the effects of the target mass (target isotopic effect) when colliding with H, D and T atoms, together with the question of control of charge transfer by means of a short, intense laser pulse.

Uncertainty estimates for theoretical atomic and molecular data

“…integrated over projectile scattering angle) cross sections only, the semiclassical approximation amounts to reducing the full scattering problem to a timedependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) for the electronic motion in the field of classically 28 moving nuclei. The classical trajectories can be determined by considering the nonadiabatic coupling of the electronic and the nuclear motion as is done in the electron nuclear dynamics (END) method [157,158], or by using Coulomb or model scattering potentials [159][160][161][162].…”