Wave packet evolution approach to ionization of hydrogen molecular ion by fast electrons

Abstract

The multiply differential cross section of the ionization of hydrogen molecular ion by fast electron impact is calculated by a direct approach, which involves the reduction of the initial 6D Schrödinger equation to a 3D evolution problem followed by the modeling of the wave packet dynamics. This approach avoids the use of stationary Coulomb two-centre functions of the continuous spectrum of the ejected electron which demands cumbersome calculations. The results obtained, after verification of the procedure in the case atomic hydrogen, reveal interesting mechanisms in the case of small scattering angles.