Physics of Highly Excited Atoms and Ions (Springer Series on Atomic, Optical, and Plasma Physics, 22)

The status of research in the **Physics of Highly Excited** **Atoms and Ions** is covered in this monograph. It includes today's approaches and methods for describing isolated Rydberg atoms and ions, radiative transitions between highly excited states, and photoionization and photorecombination processes. The authors present a number of efficient methods for the calculations in the theory of collisions of highly excited atoms and ions with neutral and charged particles and of spectral-line broadening of Rydberg atomic series in gases, low- and high-temperature plasmas, and astrophysics. Particular attention is paid to a comparison of the theoretical results with available experimental data. This monograph is devoted to the basic aspects of the physics of highly ex­ cited (Rydberg) states of atom's. After almost twenty years, this remains a hot topic of modern atomic physics. Such studies are important for many areas of physics and its applications including spectroscopy, astrophysics and radio astronomy, physics of electronic and atomic collisions, kinetics and di­ agnostics of gases, and low- and high-temperature plasmas. Physical phenom­ ena in radiative, collisional, and spectral-line broadening processes involving Rydberg atoms and ions are primarily determined by the peculiar properties and exotic features of highly excited states. The growth of interest and research activity in the physics of Rydberg the last two decades was stimulated by an extremely rapid de­ atoms over velopment of high-resolution laser spectroscopy, methods of selective excita­ tion and detection of highly excited states, atomic-beam techniques as well as radio astronomy. This has facilitated significant progress in the differ­ ent directions of the physics of highly excited atoms being of fundamental and practical importance. In particular, evident advances were achieved in studies of the structure and spectra of highly excited atoms, their behavior in static electric and magnetic fields, interactions with electromagnetic ra­ diation, spectral-line broadening and the shift of Rydberg series, collisions with electrons, ions, atoms, and molecules, etc. The principle objective of the present book is to reflect the most important physical approaches and efficient theoretical techniques in the modem physics of highly excited atoms and ions. Front Matter....Pages I-X Introduction....Pages 1-9 Classical and Quantum Description of Rydberg Atom....Pages 11-37 Radiative Transitions and Form Factors....Pages 39-57 Basic Approaches to Collisions Involving Highly Excited Atoms and Ions....Pages 59-92 Collisions of Rydberg Atom with Neutral Particles: Weak-Coupling Models....Pages 93-131 Elementary Processes Involving Rydberg Atoms and Neutral Particles: Effects of Electron-Projectile Interaction....Pages 133-181 Effects of Ion Core in Rydberg Atom-Neutral Collisions....Pages 183-212 Inelastic Transitions Induced by Collisions of Rydberg Atom (Ion) with Charged Particles....Pages 213-249 Spectral-Line Broadening and Shift....Pages 251-281 Back Matter....Pages 283-299