RECENT PROGRESS ON MASS TRANSFER IN SEMICLASSICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract

We present a brief review of recent progress in the transfer of an electron from a circular Rydberg atom to an impinging ion. This field has attracted considerable interest since the "exotic" semiclassical properties of these atoms afford an opportunity to study mass transfer in a regime where dynamic pathways can be well controlled. We report developments in the past two years in electron transfer between oriented circular Rydberg atoms and protons at collision speeds comparable to the electron orbital speed. Newly discovered results have solved a number of outstanding puzzles in the classical mass transfer theory, such as the Thomas two-step mechanism. Also discussed is the application of circular Rydberg atoms as semiclassical objects in a number of very different areas ranging from atomic physics, beam-foil interactions, to astrophysics.