The Independent Atom Model -- Pixel Counting Method for Ion-Molecule Collisions

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Hauptverfasser: Luedde, Hans Juergen, Horbatsch, Marko, Kirchner, Tom
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Luedde, Hans Juergen
Horbatsch, Marko
Kirchner, Tom
author_facet Luedde, Hans Juergen
Horbatsch, Marko
Kirchner, Tom
contents The independent atom model - pixel counting method (IAM-PCM) for the description of ion-molecule collisions is reviewed. The method was introduced (in 2016) to improve on the simple additivity rule according to which scattering cross sections for a molecular target can be obtained by summing up the cross sections of the constituent atoms. The key idea of the IAM-PCM is the inclusion of weight factors in the summation, to be determined from a geometrical interpretation of the resultant cross section as a combined area of overlapping atomic contributions, which is calculated via a pixelization technique. We argue here that the IAM-PCM can be conceptualized in a different but equivalent way by associating each pixel in the area decomposition with a scattering event. The calculation of net and charge-state correlated capture and ionization cross sections is explained, and results for 10 keV to 10 MeV proton impact are discussed for a number of targets ranging from compact ten-electron systems to large biomolecules. A previously observed scaling behaviour of the net ionization cross sections is revisited and shown to be captured by a simple parametrization with remarkable accuracy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_07822
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Independent Atom Model -- Pixel Counting Method for Ion-Molecule Collisions
Luedde, Hans Juergen
Horbatsch, Marko
Kirchner, Tom
Atomic Physics
The independent atom model - pixel counting method (IAM-PCM) for the description of ion-molecule collisions is reviewed. The method was introduced (in 2016) to improve on the simple additivity rule according to which scattering cross sections for a molecular target can be obtained by summing up the cross sections of the constituent atoms. The key idea of the IAM-PCM is the inclusion of weight factors in the summation, to be determined from a geometrical interpretation of the resultant cross section as a combined area of overlapping atomic contributions, which is calculated via a pixelization technique. We argue here that the IAM-PCM can be conceptualized in a different but equivalent way by associating each pixel in the area decomposition with a scattering event. The calculation of net and charge-state correlated capture and ionization cross sections is explained, and results for 10 keV to 10 MeV proton impact are discussed for a number of targets ranging from compact ten-electron systems to large biomolecules. A previously observed scaling behaviour of the net ionization cross sections is revisited and shown to be captured by a simple parametrization with remarkable accuracy.
title The Independent Atom Model -- Pixel Counting Method for Ion-Molecule Collisions
topic Atomic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.07822