Relativistic configuration-interaction calculation of energy levels of core-excited states in lithium-like ions: argon through krypton

Large-scale relativistic configuration-interaction calculation of energy levels of core-excited states of lithium-like ions is presented. Quantum electrodynamic, nuclear recoil, and frequency-dependent Breit corrections are included in the calculation. The approach is consistently applied for calculating all $n=2$ core-excited states for all lithium-like ions starting from argon ($Z = 18$) and ending with krypton ($Z = 36$). The results obtained are supplemented with systematical estimations of calculation errors and omitted effects

Relativistic calculation of the two-photon decay rate of highly-excited ionic states

Based on quantum electrodynamics, we reexamine the two-photon decay of one-electron atoms. Special attention is paid to the calculation of the (two-photon) total decay rates which can be viewed as the imaginary part of the two-loop self-energy. We argue that our approach can easily be applied to the cases with a virtual state having an intermediate energy between the initial and the final state of the decay process leading, thus, to the resonance peaks in the two-photon energy distribution. In order to illustrate our approach, we obtain fully relativistic results, resolved into electric and magnetic multipole components, for the two-photon decay rates of the 3S_{1/2} -> 1S_{1/2} transition in neutral hydrogen as well as in various hydrogen-like ions.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

Compton scattering of twisted light: angular distribution and polarization of scattered photons

Compton scattering of twisted photons is investigated within a non-relativistic framework using first-order perturbation theory. We formulate the problem in the density matrix theory, which enables one to gain new insights into scattering processes of twisted particles by exploiting the symmetries of the system. In particular, we analyze how the angular distribution and polarization of the scattered photons are affected by the parameters of the initial beam such as the opening angle and the projection of orbital angular momentum. We present analytical and numerical results for the angular distribution and the polarization of Compton scattered photons for initially twisted light and compare them with the standard case of plane-wave light

Caustic structures in the spectrum of x-ray Compton scattering off electrons driven by a short intense laser pulse

We study the Compton scattering of x-rays off electrons that are driven by a relativistically intense short optical laser pulse. The frequency spectrum of the laser-assisted Compton radiation shows a broad plateau in the vicinity of the laser-free Compton line due to a nonlinear mixing between x-ray and laser photons. Special emphasis is placed on how the shape of the short assisting laser pulse affects the spectrum of the scattered x-rays. In particular, we observe sharp peak structures in the plateau region, whose number and locations are highly sensitive to the laser pulse shape. These structures are interpreted as spectral caustics by using a semiclassical analysis of the laser-assisted QED matrix element

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

The effect of bound state dressing in laser assisted radiative recombination

We present a theoretical study on the recombination of a free electron into the ground state of a hydrogen-like ion in the presence of an external laser field. Emphasis is placed on the effects caused by the laser dressing of the residual ionic bound state. To investigate how this dressing affects the total and angle-differential cross section of laser assisted radiative recombination (LARR) we apply first-order perturbation theory and the separable Coulomb-Volkov-continuum ansatz. Using this approach detailed calculations were performed for low-$Z$ hydrogen like ions and laser intensities in the range from $I_L=10^{11}\text{W/cm}^2$ to $I_L=10^{13}\text{W/cm}^2$. It is seen that the total cross section as a function of the laser intensity is remarkably affected by the bound state dressing. Moreover the laser dressing becomes manifest as asymmetries in the angular distribution and the (energy) spectrum of the emitted recombination photons.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Bessel beams of two-level atoms driven by a linearly polarized laser field

We study Bessel beams of two-level atoms that are driven by a linearly polarized laser field. Starting from the Schroedinger equation, we determine the states of two-level atoms in a plane-wave field respecting propagation directions both of the atom and the field. For such laser-driven two-level atoms, we construct Bessel beams beyond the typical paraxial approximation. We show that the probability density of these atomic beams obtains a non-trivial, Bessel-squared-type behavior and can be tuned under the special choice of the atom and laser parameters, such as the nuclear charge, atom velocity, laser frequency, and propagation geometry of the atom and laser beams. Moreover, we spatially and temporally characterize the beam of hydrogen and selected (neutral) alkali-metal atoms that carry non-zero orbital angular momentum (OAM). The proposed spatiotemporal Bessel states (i) are able to describe, in principle, twisted states of any two-level system which is driven by the radiation field and (ii) have potential applications in atomic, nuclear processes and quantum communication.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, appeared as a EPJD highlight on Thursday, 01 August 2013 http://www.epj.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=684%3Aepjd-highlight-novel-beams-made-of-twisted-atoms&catid=112%3Aepj-d&Itemid=466&lang=e