Collective multipole expansions and the perturbation theory in the quantum three-body problem

The perturbation theory with respect to the potential energy of three particles is considered. The first-order correction to the continuum wave function of three free particles is derived. It is shown that the use of the collective multipole expansion of the free three-body Green function over the set of Wigner $D$-functions can reduce the dimensionality of perturbative matrix elements from twelve to six. The explicit expressions for the coefficients of the collective multipole expansion of the free Green function are derived. It is found that the $S$-wave multipole coefficient depends only upon three variables instead of six as higher multipoles do. The possible applications of the developed theory to the three-body molecular break-up processes are discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure

Parametrizations and dynamical analysis of angle-integrated cross sections for double photoionization including nondipole effects

Similarly to differential cross sections for one-electron photoionization, the doubly differential cross section for double photoionization (DPI) may be conveniently described by four parameters: the singly differential (with respect to energy sharing) cross section (σ0), the dipole asymmetry parameter (β), and two nondipole asymmetry parameters (Y and δ). Here we derive two model-independent representations for these parameters for DPI from a S01 atomic bound state: (i) in terms of one-dimensional integrals of the polarization-invariant DPI amplitudes and (ii) in terms of the exact two-electron reduced matrix elements. For DPI of He at excess energies, Eexc, of 100 eV, 450 eV, and 1 keV, we present numerical results for the asymmetry parameters within the framework of the convergent close-coupling theory and compare them with results of lowest-order (in the interelectron interaction) perturbation theory (LOPT). The results for Eexc=1keV exhibit a nondipole asymmetry that is large enough to be easily measured experimentally. We find excellent agreement between our LOPT results and other theoretical predictions and experimental data for total cross sections and ratios of double to single ionization cross sections for K-shell DPI from several multielectron atoms

Multipole expansions in four-dimensional hyperspherical harmonics

The technique of vector differentiation is applied to the problem of the derivation of multipole expansions in four-dimensional space. Explicit expressions for the multipole expansion of the function r^n C_j (\hr) with \vvr=\vvr_1+\vvr_2 are given in terms of tensor products of two hyperspherical harmonics depending on the unit vectors \hr_1 and \hr_2. The multipole decomposition of the function (\vvr_1 \cdot \vvr_2)^n is also derived. The proposed method can be easily generalised to the case of the space with dimensionality larger than four. Several explicit expressions for the four-dimensional Clebsch-Gordan coefficients with particular values of parameters are presented in the closed form.Comment: 19 pages, no figure

Hyperspherical harmonics with arbitrary arguments

The derivation scheme for hyperspherical harmonics (HSH) with arbitrary arguments is proposed. It is demonstrated that HSH can be presented as the product of HSH corresponding to spaces with lower dimensionality multiplied by the orthogonal (Jacobi or Gegenbauer) polynomial. The relation of HSH to quantum few-body problems is discussed. The explicit expressions for orthonormal HSH in spaces with dimensions from 2 to 6 are given. The important particular cases of four- and six-dimensional spaces are analyzed in detail and explicit expressions for HSH are given for several choices of hyperangles. In the six-dimensional space, HSH representing the kinetic energy operator corresponding to i) the three-body problem in physical space and ii) four-body planar problem are derived.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur

Electron interference in atomic ionization by two crossing polarized ultrashort pulses

Formation of geometrically regular interference patterns in the photoelectron momentum distributions (PMDs) corresponding to the photoionization of atoms by two single-color, crossing ultrashort pulses is investigated both analytically and numerically. It is shown that, in contrast to the photoionization by monochromatic pulses, PMDs for the ionization by crossing and co-propagating broadband pulses are essentially different (unless both pulses are linearly polarized), namely, when one pulse is linearly polarized along the propagation direction, [], of the circularly polarized (CP) pulse, then interference maxima (minima) of the ionization probability have the form of three-dimensional single-arm regular spirals which are wound along []. Next, the interference maxima (minima) of the ionization probability by a pair of crossing elliptically polarized pulses have the form of either Newton’s rings or two-arm Fermat’s spirals, depending on the position of a detection plane. Remarkably, these regular patterns occur only for certain values of the pulse ellipticities, and they become distorted for CP pulses. For both above-mentioned pulse configurations, the features of interference patterns depend on the time delay between pulses, their relative electric field amplitude, and relative carrier-envelope phase. Our predictions, illustrated by the numerical results for the ionization of H and He atoms by two orthogonal pulses, are quite general and we expect them to be valid for the ionization of any randomly oriented atomic or molecular target

Circular dichroism at equal energy sharing in photo-double-ionization of He

Interference between dipole and quadrupole transition amplitudes in photo-double-ionization of He by an elliptically polarized vuv photon is shown to induce circular dichroism in the case of equal energy sharing. The magnitude of this retardation-induced dichroic effect is estimated and its impact on the nondipole asymmetries of the triply differential cross section is demonstrated