The role of electron correlations in the double ionization of helium by fast protons

Abstract

We consider the double ionization (DI) of a helium atom by fast protons and study the role of electron correlations in this process. We develop a quantum-mechanical approach that takes into account the interaction of the emitted electrons in continuum and the dynamical charge screening of the ejected particles, which depends on their ejection kinematics. The interaction of the emitted electrons between themselves and with the core is described in the model of approximate 3C functions, while the dynamical charge screening is described by introducing effective charges of the emitted electrons and the ion core, which are determined by the particle momenta. The derived closed analytical expressions for the differential ionization cross sections have been applied to the case of a coplanar particle ejection geometry at various momenta q transferred to the atom. Analysis of our calculations has shown that the developed model describes adequately the available experimental data. Including the dynamical charge screening has a significant effect on the DI cross section and improves considerably the agreement between theory and experiment.