Advances and challenges in collisions of fast ions with few-electron atoms

Abstract

This report reviews the recent theoretical results on the fast ion-few-electron atom collisions obtained in the framework of an approach using the perturbation theory expansion in the scattering potential and the diagonalization approximation for CI-wavefunction of the target atom. The uniform consideration of the electron transitions to states of discrete and continuous spectra is set forth. The results of investigations of the two-electron transitions in helium induced by fast charged projectiles, such as, the total and differential cross sections, mechanisms of electron transitions, interference problem and charge asymmetry of the cross sections, normalization of CI-wavefunctions of the discrete and continuous spectrum states, obtained on the basis of the present approach, are discussed.