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The energy shift of K electrons in heavy atoms due to the self-energy correction has been calculated. This process is treated to all orders in Zα, where Z denotes the nuclear charge. For the superheavy system Z=170, where the K-shell binding energy reaches the pair-production threshold (E1sb∼2mc2), a shift of +11.0 keV is found. This shift is almost cancelled by the vacuum polarization, leaving a negligible effect for all quantum-electrodynamical corrections of order α but all orders of Zα.
The theory of direct electron-positron pair production in the collision of heavy ions is formulated in the framework of the quasimolecular model. The pair production process acquires a collective nature for (Z1+Z2)α>1 and can be understood as the shakeoff of the strong vacuum polarization cloud formed in the quasimolecule. The total cross section is, e.g., 76 μb for Pb + Pb at Coulomb barrier energies.
This paper reports calculations of the influence of a reaction time T>10-21 s in deep-inelastic Xe-Pb collisions on the energy spectrum of δ electrons ejected in the same collision. It is shown that the lifetime of the superheavy composite system causes pronounced oscillations of width ε=h/T in the electron distribution, which survive the inclusion of multistep excitations and the folding with a lifetime distribution function. This effect may serve as an atomic clock for deep-inelastic collisions.
We show that information about quasimolecular electronic binding energies in transient atomic systems of Z=Z1+Z2 up to 184 can be obtained from three sources: (1) the impact-parameter dependence of the ionization probability; (2) the ionization probability in head-on collisions as a function of total nuclear charge Z; (3) the delta-electron spectrum in coincidence with K-vacancy formation in asymmetric collisions. Experiments are proposed and discussed.
Binding energies and wave functions of inner-shell electronic states in superheavy quasimolecules with (Zp+Zt)α>1 are calculated. Ionization during a collision of very heavy ions is investigated within a molecular basis generated by the solutions of the two-center Dirac equation. Transitions to vacant bound states as well as direct excitation to the continuum are taken into account. We present theoretical values for the ionization probability as a function of impact parameter, bombarding energy, and combined nuclear charge. Our computed results are compared with recent experimental data. It is suggested that relativistic binding energies of electrons in superheavy quasimolecules can be determined experimentally via the impact-parameter dependence of ionization and the anisotropy of quasimolecular radiation.
In critical or nearly critical heavy-ion collisions, induced as well as spontaneous energyless e-e+ pair creation result in the decay of the neutral vacuum. Induced transitions from the negative-energy continuum into a vacant molecular 1s level can occur even in the absence of diving and produce a substantial enhancement and broadening of the previously considered spontaneous positron spectrum. Total cross sections of 5 b have been calculated for U-U collisions.
Parity mixing of electron states should be extremely strong for heliumlike uranium. We calculate its size and discuss whether it could be determined experimentally. We analyze one specific scheme for such an experiment. The required laser intensities for two-photon spectroscopy of the 23P0–2 1S0level splitting is of the order of 1017 W/cm2. A determination of parity mixing would require at least 1021 W/cm2.
A new spontaneous-symmetry-breaking mechanism is formulated for SU(3), which is used to describe the formation of bags around quarks. The Higgs field is replaced by the scalar product of two colored fermion fields. This model gives mass only to one gluon (equivalent to Aμ8) when spontaneously broken. The consequences of this scheme are discussed, and it is argued that it can explain several puzzling high-energy heavy-ion experiments.