This title is a comprehensive collection of atomic characteristics of highly charged ion sources and elementary processes related to X-ray radiation: energy levels, wavelengths, transition probabilities, cross sections and rate coefficients. Many figures, tables, simple formulas and scaling laws accompany the text wherever possible.

An extremely small (1-250 micron FWHM) beam of slow highly charged ions deexciting on an x-ray production target generates x-ray monochromatic radiation that is passed through a specimen and detected for imaging. The resolution of the x-ray radiograms is improved and such detection is achieved with relatively low dosages of radiation passing through the specimen. An apparatus containing an electron beam ion trap (and modifications thereof) equipped with a focusing column serves as a source of ions that generate radiation projected onto an image detector. Electronic and other detectors are able to detect an increased amount of radiation per pixel than achieved by previous methods and apparati.

Emphasizing a physical understanding with many illustrations, Introduction to the Physics of Highly Charged Ions covers the major areas of x-ray radiation and elementary atomic processes occurring with highly charged ions in hot laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Topics include light and ion sources, spectroscopy, atomic structure, magnetic and QED effects, and a thorough look at atomic collisions, from elementary processes in plasmas to ion-surface interaction and hollow atoms. Avoiding unnecessary mathematical details, this book is accessible to a broad range of readers, including graduate students and researchers.

Emphasizing a physical understanding with many illustrations, Introduction to the Physics of Highly Charged Ions covers the major areas of x-ray radiation and elementary atomic processes occurring with highly charged ions in hot laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Topics include light and ion sources, spectroscopy, atomic structure, magnetic and

The physics of highly charged ions has become an essential ingredient of many modern research fields, such as x-ray astronomy and astrophysics, con trolled thermonuclear fusion, heavy ion nuclear physics, charged particle ac celerator physics, beam-foil spectroscopy, creation of xuv and x-ray lasers, etc. A broad spectrum of phenomena in high-temperature laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, as well as many aspects of their global physical state and behaviour, are directly influenced, and often fully determined, by the structure and collision properties of multiply charged ions. The growth of in terest in the physics of highly charged ions, experienced especially in the last ten to fifteen years, has stimulated a dramatic increase in research activity in this field and resulted in numerous significant achievements of both fun damental and practical importance. This book is devoted to the basic aspects of the physics of highly charged ions. Its principal aim is to provide a basis for understanding the structure and spectra of these ions, as well as their interactions with other atomic par ticles (electrons, ions, atoms and molecules). Particular attention is paid to the presentation of theoretical methods for the description of different radi ative and collision phenomena involving multiply charged ions. The exper imental material is included only to illustrate the validity of theoretical methods or to demonstrate those physical phenomena for which adequate theoretical descriptions are still absent. The general principles of atomic spectroscopy are included to the extent to which they are pertinent to the subject matter.