Instantaneous versus non-instantaneous approach to relativistic ionization of atomic hydrogen by electron impact

Abstract

We present a theoretical model for atomic hydrogen ionization by electron impact in the instantaneous approximation and the more accurate non-instantaneous approach using the methods of Quantum Electrodynamics, for the binary coplanar and the coplanar asymmetric geometries. All electrons are described by plane wave functions in the coplanar binary geometry but in the asymmetric geometry the ejected electron is described by a Sommerfeld-Maue wave function. It is shown that the two models give the same results in the non relativistic limit for the binary coplanar geometry where the interactions can be treated as instantaneous. However, this is no longer true for the relativistic case where one has to take into account both the instantaneous interaction and the radiation interaction. These results are obtained in the first order of perturbation theory.