Electron impact ionisation of one-electron atoms or ions is well described in
the near threshold region by Wannier’s theory based on estimating the
classical phase space available to two outgoing electrons in the Coulomb field
of the residual ion. The relation between classical dynamics and quantum
mechanics in the near threshold region becomes more complicated and
interesting in ‘non-Wannier situations’, where classical
ionisation is either strictly forbidden or strongly inhibited. This paper
focusses on two examples of such situations, which have been receiving
increasing attention in recent years, namely the s-wave
model and the case where the exponent in Wannier"s law diverges.