High resolution studies of electron-ion recombination

The formation of atoms by recombination of free electrons with ions is a fundamental process and plays a central role in astro-physical and fusion plasmas. It can be seen as time-inverse photo-ionization, auto-ionization, or electron-impact ionization. Here, we show how these processes can be measured with cooler-storage rings, such as CRYRING at MSL, with very high accuracy. The status of theoretical modeling is briefly reviewed and anomalies are uncovered. We discuss some examples of recombination for ions where strong dielectronic recombination resonances occur. With cooler-storage rings, these resonances can today be measured with meV accuracy, and from the spectra of the dielectronic resonances, very accurate values for energy splittings and resonance strengths are derived. These allow crucial tests of relativistic, correlation, and QED effects in these systems. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.