Introduction To The Physics Of Highly Charged Ions

This Series covers the study of atoms, ions, molecules or clusters, their structure and interactions with particles, photons or fields, also those aspects of spectroscopy, quantum optics and related phenomena where the objects of study are the elementary atomic, ionic or molecular properties or processes. Titles in the series range in level from advanced textbooks for graduate students to specialized research monographsto meetthe needs of scientists and engineers working in atomic and molecular physics and related fields in industry. The physics of highly charged ions is one of the most important and active domains of modern atomic physics. Over the last decade it has become a versatile tool in pure and applied physics. Applications are diverse and include x-ray astronomy and astrophysics, x-ray lasers and lithography, heavy-ion induced fusion and nuclear physics, beam-foil spectroscopy and ion-surface interaction. This book provides an overview of modern atomic physics with highly charged ions. It serves as an introduction to the subject for graduate and postgraduate students, as well as specialists in the field who will find a reasonable mixture of fundamentals and practical applications for their research. Familiarity with electrodynamics and some basic knowledge of atomic physics and quantum mechanics is assumed. The authors cover the more important basic concepts rather than striving for completeness or generality. They emphasise physical understandingand include many illustrations, makingthe book accessible to a broad range of physicists working in atomic and plasma physics, astrophysics, laser physics and spectroscopy.