Thomas mechanism in electron capture to the continuum

V. D. RODRÍGUEZ; R. O. BARRACHINA

PHYSICAL REVIEW A - ATOMIC, MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS

AMER PHYSICAL SOC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2000 vol. 62 p. 62716 - 62719

1050-2947

Thomas mechanism is theoretically shown to be present for the electron capture to the continuum (ECC) processes in ion-atom ionizing collisions. By focusing on the recoil-ion momentum distribution, a prominent peak structure at 60° from the backward direction is observed near the kinematical threshold. This recoil-ion critical angle corresponds to the Thomas double-scattering mechanism for electron capture. The theoretical description of this ECC Thomas peak in ionization collisions requires accounting for the interaction of the electron with both the projectile and the residual target.