Four-State Treatment of K-L Vacancy Sharing in Slow Ne+Kr Collisions

Preliminary results of a four-state treatment of the Ne(K)-Kr(L) vacancy-sharing process in slow Ne+Kr collisions are presented. On the assumption that vacancies are created in the adiabatic 4σ molecular orbital at small internuclear distances, the dynamic couplings among the 2σ, 3σ, 4σ and lπ orbitals of the quasimolecular Ne+Kr system are treated explicitly in the framework of a time-dependent coupled-state approach. The relevant coupling matrix elements are calculated from orbitals of the variable-screening model including translational factors of the Schneiderman-Russek type. The qualitative features of the coupling matrix elements are discussed and compared to those implied in the two-state approach of Nikitin. Some doubts are raised on the validity of the two-state treatment of K-L vacancy sharing.