CHARGE-CHANGING AND EXCITATION IN HIGH-ENERGY, MULTICHARGED ION COLLISIONS

The recent progress in the study of charge-changing and excitation in high energy, multicharged ion collisions is reviewed, with particular emphasis.on the observation of electron correlation effects. Recent measurements of resonant transfer and excitation (RTE) cross sections with very heavy ions, which provide a stringent test of dielectronic recombination theory, are discussed. As the understanding of the RTE process becomes firmer there are new experiments seeking to observe multi-capture and -excitation resonant phenomena. The study of simultaneous loss and excitation can allow interesting electronic configurations to be explored. The use of coincident K X-ray detection with charge exchange, to select close collisions with heavy gas atoms, has confirmed the statistical nature of the subsequent rearrangement of electrons and produced interesting results which still require a quantitative theory.