There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Annals of physics

Recoil-ion and electron momentum spectroscopy is a rapidly developing technique that allows one to measure the vector momenta of several ions and electrons resulting from atomic or molecular fragmentation. In a unique combination, large solid angles close to 4π and superior momentum resolutions around a few per cent of an atomic unit (a.u.) are typically reached in state-of-the art machines, so-called reaction-microscopes. Evolving from recoil-ion and cold target recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy (COLTRIMS), reaction-microscopes—the `bubble chambers of atomic physics'—mark the decisive step forward to investigate many-particle quantum-dynamics occurring when atomic and molecular systems or even surfaces and solids are exposed to time-dependent external electromagnetic fields. This paper concentrates on just these latest technical developments and on at least four new classes of fragmentation experiments that have emerged within about the last five years. First, multi-dimensional images in momentum space brought unprecedented information on the dynamics of single-photon induced fragmentation of fixed-in-space molecules and on their structure. Second, a break-through in the investigation of high-intensity short-pulse laser induced fragmentation of atoms and molecules has been achieved by using reaction-microscopes. Third, for electron and ion-impact, the investigation of two-electron reactions has matured to a state such that the first fully differential cross sections (FDCSs) are reported. Fourth, comprehensive sets of FDCSs for single ionization of atoms by ion-impact, the most basic atomic fragmentation reaction, brought new insight, a couple of surprises and unexpected challenges to theory at keV to GeV collision energies. In addition, a brief summary on the kinematics is provided at the beginning. Finally, the rich future potential of the method is briefly envisaged.

/pdf/recoil-ion-and-electron-momentum-spectroscopy-reaction-c7ai542e3l.pdf

Recoil-ion and electron momentum spectroscopy: reaction-microscopes

▪ Abstract Turbulence affects the structure and motions of nearly all temperature and density regimes in the interstellar gas. This two-part review summarizes the observations, theory, and simulations of interstellar turbulence and their implications for many fields of astrophysics. The first part begins with diagnostics for turbulence that have been applied to the cool interstellar medium and highlights their main results. The energy sources for interstellar turbulence are then summarized along with numerical estimates for their power input. Supernovae and superbubbles dominate the total power, but many other sources spanning a large range of scales, from swing-amplified gravitational instabilities to cosmic ray streaming, all contribute in some way. Turbulence theory is considered in detail, including the basic fluid equations, solenoidal and compressible modes, global inviscid quadratic invariants, scaling arguments for the power spectrum, phenomenological models for the scaling of higher-order structu...

http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/%7Ereipurth/reviews/elmegreen1_araa.pdf

Interstellar Turbulence I: Observations and Processes

Cold Target Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy: a &momentum microscope' to view atomic collision dynamics

Electronic and Vibrational Close-Coupling Method for Resonant Electron-Molecule Scattering

Configuration space method to calculate rearrangement matrix elements

Generalisation of scattering theory to charged particles is presented. It is based on a surface-integral approach. New general definitions for the breakup amplitude in a three-body system valid for both short-range and long-range Coulombic interactions are given.

Generalisation of scattering theory to charged particles

We report on calculation of electron-impact excitation cross sections for Li-like ions of boron and beryllium. The data were produced with a number of modern methods in atomic collision theory, such as convergent close-coupling, K-matrix and Coulomb-Born-exchange. The results obtained are compared with other calculations and available expermental data, and the recommended cross sections for all transitions between atomic terms with principal quantum numbers n ≤ 4 are presented as tables of fitting parameters.

Excitation cross sections for Li-like ions of beryllium and boron

Results from the application of optical potential, relativistic optical potential, relativistic convergent close-coupling, and binary encounter Bethe models to electron scattering from gas-phase cadmium are presented. In particular, integral cross sections for elastic scattering, summed discrete electronic-state excitation, and ionization scattering processes are reported over an extended incident electron-energy range. Total cross sections are constructed by taking their sum. Measurements are presented for elastic scattering and for excitation to the 51P1 state. The theoretical and experimental results are compared to previous calculations and measurements. Recommended electron cross-section datasets are constructed over an incident electron energy range of 0.01–10 000 eV.

Igor Bray

Papers

Electronic and Vibrational Close-Coupling Method for Resonant Electron-Molecule Scattering

Configuration space method to calculate rearrangement matrix elements

Generalisation of scattering theory to charged particles

Excitation cross sections for Li-like ions of beryllium and boron

Cross Sections for Electron Scattering from Cadmium: Theory and Experiment