DYNAMIC ASPECT OF ELECTRON CORRELATION IN ATOMIC-COLLISIONS - THE ROLE OF DIELECTRONIC PROCESSES

Electron correlation effects are studied in the semi-classical approximation relevant for energetic ion-atom collisions. The basic formalism for dynamic electron correlation is presented in analogy with the corresponding stationary aspect of configuration mixing. The dynamic aspect of electron correlation is shown to manifest itself in dielectronic processes, which are two-electron phenomena induced by the electron-electron interaction. First-order perturbation theory is used to describe the time-dependent coupling of states which differ by two spin orbitals. For specific cases, analytic formulas are evaluated to estimate the strength of the dielectronic processes. A brief survey over the experimental studies of electron correlation in ion-atom collisions is given. Model calculations are discussed for the process of autoexcitation and dielectronic excitation in comparison with previous experimental results.