Colloquium
Second Born electrons, and rescue at sea
Speaker: A. Ravi P. Rau (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA)
Date and time
Abstract
Generally, a perturbation expansion with a non-zero first order term is followed by smaller higher order terms. An unusual exception is forward charge transfer between an ion and a neutral atom or molecule. At high incident ion velocities, the second Born term dominates over the first for that charge (electron) transfer from neutral to ion. Aspects of this will be discussed, along with a peculiar connection to the most efficient procedure for rescuing a person fallen overboard at sea. Connections go back a hundred years to the early days of quantum physics, even earlier in classical mechanics and to gravitational analogs.
Short Biography
Dr. A. Ravi P. Rau is a professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA. With BSc (Hons) and MSc degrees in the 1960s from Delhi University, he got his Ph.D. in 1970 from the University of Chicago. He was at New York University and TIFR before joining LSU in 1974. He has been at various universities in Australia, Germany, and India during sabbatical visits and a frequent visitor at RRI since 1973. He is a theoretical physicist, primarily in atomic and optical physics and quantum information.