Single- and double-ionization processes using Gaussian-type orbitals: Benchmark on antiproton-helium collisions in the keV-energy range

Abstract

We present a simple and efficient method for computing single and double ionization cross sections in ion-atom and ion-molecule collisions using ${L}^{2}$ Gaussian basis sets. Gaussian functions are widely employed to compute bound states of ions, atoms, and molecules. However, the description of continuum states, and therefore ionization phenomena, remains a theoretical challenge. Our approach is tested on the benchmark system antiproton-helium collisions in the so-called intermediate energy range. A good agreement with numerically exact calculations is observed. The proposed method is general and can thus be employed in any collisional systems in the challenging nonperturbative regime. Our work opens the way to investigate multiple ionization processes by ion impact in multicenter polyelectronic systems.