Low-energy approximation for inner-shell ionization during nuclear resonance scattering

Abstract

A calculation of the amplitude for inner-shell ionization accompanying the resonant scattering of a proton from the atomic nucleus is presented which accounts for higher-order correction terms not included in previous treatments of this problem. The correction terms arise from the use of a more accurate asymptotic representation of the scattering wave functions which appear in the distorted-wave Born approximation for the amplitude. The energy transferred to the electron plays the role of a small parameter in the analysis of the accuracy of the approximation. Some techniques used in a previous derivation of a low-frequency approximation for bremsstrahlung are directly applicable to the closely analogous problem considered here. Numerical estimates of the correction terms are obtained using a very simple model of the ionization process.