Investigation of the structural properties and electron collision excitation dynamics of endohedrally confined atoms

Abstract

This manuscript is dedicated to study the structural properties and electron collision excitation dynamics of endohedrally confined atoms. For this purpose, a fully relativistic approach is proposed, implemented within the framework of relativistic configuration interaction. The approach incorporates the Dirac equation with a new central potential, offering solutions that include both continuous and bound state wave functions. A power exponential potential, which serves as a confining potential for a cage with flexible shell boundaries, is used to model the spherically symmetric barrier. The feature of this potential is that the shape of the potential can be continuously modified from a square well type to a Gaussian type by adjusting a single parameter. The electron collision dynamics process is determined by the relativistic distorted wave method. As a test case, the present model is employed to provide predictions of the energies, transition rates, total and magnetic sublevel electron collision excitation cross sections, and polarization properties of photons emitted from an endohedrally confined hydrogen atom by the $C_{60}$ fullerene. The dramatic changes in these parameters due to the character of the cage are discussed. A comparison of our numerical results with other available results is made. The current work is not only important in the field of atomic physics, but is also useful in the fields of materials science, quantum information, and nanochemistry.