Electron capture in slow collisions

Abstract

It is pointed out that certain faults in the customary formulation describing electron capture in slow collisions arise from the defective character of the electronic eigenfunctions used in the standard expansion. These eigenfunctions satisfy the appropriate equation for all internuclear separations if the velocity of relative motion is zero ; but they do not as they should, satisfy it for all velocities of relative motion when the internuclear separation is infinite. When suitably modified eigenfunctions are adopted the faults mentioned disappear. The equivalence of the impact parameter and wave treatments is verified both for non­-resonance and for resonance capture.