Atomic physics of channeled particles

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The problem of the modification of the atomic structure of a hydrogenlike atom or ion as it is channeled through a thin single crystal is formulated. For high-velocity channeling there is an approximate decoupling of the internal atomic motion and the solid state. This allows a single-particle equation to be written for the modified hydrogen atom. The effective potential in the equation is absorptive because of the ionization of the atom due to collisions with the solid. Effects of both single-particle and collective excitations are discussed. An approximate Schrödinger equation is derived for the atom, and solved approximately for the distorted states.