16th international conference on the physics of highly charged ions

TLDR: The 16th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions (HCI 2012) was held at the Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany, 2-7 September 2012 as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: This volume contains the proceedings of the 16th International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions (HCI 2012) held at the Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany, 2–7 September 2012 (figure 1). This conference has been part of a biannual conference series that was started in Stockholm in 1982 and, since then, has been organized at various places around the world, with recent venues in Belfast (UK, 2006), Tokyo (Japan, 2008) and Shanghai (China, 2010). The physics of highly charged ions (HCI) is a rapidly developing and attractive field of research with impact upon many other research disciplines. Apart from fundamental studies on the structure and dynamics of matter in extreme fields, or the search for physics beyond the standard model, detailed knowledge about the properties and behavior of HCI is crucial for other areas, from astro- and solar physics to hot plasma and fusion research to extreme ultra-violet and ion lithography, or even to medical research, to name just a few. In fusion research, for example, of whether tokamak, stellarator or confinement fusion facilities, most models and diagnostics deeply rely on the understanding of HCI and the (theoretical) prediction of accurate atomic data for these systems. In life science, moreover, ion therapy or the laser acceleration of ions and electrons may help save and improve the quality of life in the future. Many of these and further topics are addressed in these proceedings. After 30 years, the HCI conference series, and especially the meeting in Heidelberg, is appreciated much as a key forum for bringing together senior experts with students, young researchers and scientists from related disciplines who make use and give back impact upon the research with HCI. More than 250 scientists from 23 countries participated in HCI 2012 and presented the current status of the field. About one third of them were post-graduate students, showing that the field attracts many young and talented physicists. The conference was held in the Physics Lecture Hall at the New Campus of Heidelberg University. On the evening of 2 September, the day before the opening of HCI 2012, all participants were welcomed warmly at the foyer of this lecture hall, whose decorative glass front provides a view upon artificial ponds and water lilies at this time of the year. For many colleagues and delegates, this evening offered a hearty re-encounter with each other, along with wine and other beverages. The conference then opened on the morning of 3 September, and an exciting program was organized by the local committee with the help of the International Advisory Board, including 5 invited talks, 10 progress reports as well as 26 selected talks. In addition, more than 230 posters were presented in two sessions, with beer and brezels aside. On Tuesday evening, an exciting public lecture on Heavy ions in therapy and space was given by Marco Durante from the GSI Helmholtz Center and Technical University in Darmstadt. Moreover, many of the participants joined the guided tour through the old city of Heidelberg with its famous (ruins of the) castle, and several the Solar Boat Trip. On Thursday night, we all enjoyed the conference dinner with home-brewed beer and regional specialties at the 'Kulturbrauerei' in the historic center of Heidelberg. Finally, scientific tours were also organized to GSI Darmstadt and the Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg on the last day of the conference, and attracted much consideration. We here present the proceedings of this conference that contain a total of 104 contributions, including invited papers, progress reports and contributed papers. As previously, these papers are grouped into five categories. (1) Fundamental aspects, structure and spectroscopy.(2) Collisions with electrons, ions, atoms and molecules.(3) Interactions with clusters, surfaces and solids.(4) Interactions with photons, plasmas and strong field processes.(5) Production, experimental developments and applications.All papers were refereed by senior delegates to the conference, and we like to thank all of them for their work and rapid response. The next conference in this series will be held in Bariloche, Argentina, at the beginning of September 2014 for which we wish the organizers great success. Looking forward seeing you again in 2014. Acknowledgments Much of the success of the conference was due to the continuous support of the Advisory Board, the Local Organization Committee and the financial support by various academic and industrial sponsors. In particular, we wish to acknowledge the generous support by the Wilhelm-and-Else Heraeus Foundation, The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and the Heidelberg Center for Quantum Dynamics. We thank all of them, and especially Stefanie Luttges and Natali Jurina and her team from UniTT Conference Management. The assistance of Hans-Georg Siebig is very much appreciated. Finally, many thanks also to the post-graduate students from the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Heidelberg, who helped with customizing the conference site and running the audio-visual equipment.