Abstract
Ionization in atomic collisions at adiabatic impact energies is discussed. Special attention is given to the saddle point ionization mechanism. This mechanism can be described by a quantum mechanical theory based on the concept of hidden crossings. The fundamental H+‐H collision system is studied as a test case. For 1–6 keV collisions both the experimental velocity distributions and the relative total ionization cross sections of this system can be explained by the theory in a consistent way. At collision energies of 4 keV and higher there is strong evidence for the existence of a saddle point ionization mechanism. Saddle point effects in the He2+‐H (theory) and H+‐He (experiment) collision systems are briefly commented upon.
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