Double lepton pair production with electron capture in relativistic heavy--ion collisions

We present a theoretical study of a double lepton pair production in ultra--relativistic collision between two bare ions. Special emphasis is placed to processes in which creation of (at least one) $e^+ e^-$ pair is accompanied by the capture of an electron into a bound ionic state. To evaluate the probability and cross section of these processes we employ two approaches based on (i) the first--order perturbation theory and multipole expansion of Dirac wavefunctions, and (ii) the equivalent photon approximation. With the help of such approaches, detailed calculations are made for the creation of two bound--free $e^+ e^-$ pairs as well as of bound--free $e^+ e^-$ and free--free $\mu^+ \mu^-$ pairs in collisions of bare lead ions Pb$^{82+}$. The results of the calculations indicate that observation of the double lepton processes may become feasible at the LHC facility.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Negative-continuum dielectronic recombination into excited states of highly-charged ions

The recombination of a free electron into a bound state of bare, heavy nucleus under simultaneous production of bound-electron--free-positron pair is studied within the framework of relativistic first--order perturbation theory. This process, denoted as "negative-continuum dielectronic recombination" leads to a formation of not only the ground but also the singly- and doubly-excited states of the residual helium-like ion. The contributions from such an excited--state capture to the total as well as angle-differential cross-sections are studied in detail. Calculations are performed for the recombination of (initially) bare uranium U$^{92+}$ ions and for a wide range of collision energies. From these calculations, we find almost 75 % enhancement of the total recombination probability if the excited ionic states are taken into account.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted to PR

Proton and heavy ion acceleration by stochastic fluctuations in the Earth's magnetotail

Abstract. Spacecraft observations show that energetic ions are found in the Earth's magnetotail, with energies ranging from tens of keV to a few hundreds of keV. In this paper we carry out test particle simulations in which protons and other ion species are injected in the Vlasov magnetic field configurations obtained by Catapano et al. (2015). These configurations represent solutions of a generalized Harris model, which well describes the observed profiles in the magnetotail. In addition, three-dimensional time-dependent stochastic electromagnetic perturbations are included in the simulation box, so that the ion acceleration process is studied while varying the equilibrium magnetic field profile and the ion species. We find that proton energies of the order of 100 keV are reached with simulation parameters typical of the Earth's magnetotail. By changing the ion mass and charge, we can study the acceleration of heavy ions such as He+ +  and O+, and it is found that energies of the order of 100–200 keV are reached in a few seconds for He+ + , and about 100 keV for O+

Wave-particle interactions in the outer radiation belts

Data from the Van Allen Probes have provided the first extensive evidence of non-linear (as opposed to quasi-linear) wave-particle interactions in space with the associated rapid (fraction of a bounce period) electron acceleration to hundreds of keV by Landau resonance in the parallel electric fields of time domain structures (TDS) and very oblique chorus waves. The experimental evidence, simulations, and theories of these processes are discussed. {\bf Key words:} the radiation belts, wave-particle interaction, plasma waves and instabilitiesComment: 9 pages, 2 figure