Classical theory of charge transfer and ionization of hydrogen atoms by protons

Abstract

The theory is presented for obtaining, by a Monte Carlo method, the classical cross sections for charge transfer and ionization of hydrogen atoms by protons, in which the atoms are chosen initially from a microcanonical ensemble. With minor modifications the theory applies to any collisions between three charged particles which do not all have charges of the same sign. Scaling laws and an iterative solution of Kepler's equation are discussed.