Motion and ionization equilibrium of hydrogen atoms in a superstrong magnetic field
- Theoretical Astrophysics, 130-33, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 (United States)
- Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States)
We study the effects of finite proton mass on the energy levels of hydrogen atoms moving transverse to a superstrong magnetic field {ital B} with generalized pseudomomentum {ital K}{sub {perpendicular}}. Field strengths of order {ital B}{similar_to}10{sup 12} G are typically found on the surfaces of neutron stars, but we also study the regime {ital B}{approx_gt}{ital B}{sub {ital crit}}=4.23{times}10{sup 13} G, where the Landau excitation energy of the proton is large. We adopt two different approaches to the two-body problem in strong magnetic fields and obtain an approximate but complete solution of the atomic energy as a function of {ital B} and {ital K}{sub {perpendicular}}. We show that, for {ital B}{much_gt}{ital B}{sub {ital crit}}, there is an orthogonal set of bound states that do not have any Landau excitation contribution in their energies. The states with very large {ital K}{sub {perpendicular}} have small binding energies and small transverse velocities, but are nevertheless distinct from the fully ionized states. The final results for the excitation energies are given in the form of analytical fitting formulas. The generalized Saha equation for the ionization-recombination equilibrium of hydrogen gas in the presence of a superstrong magnetic field is then derived. Although the maximum transverse velocity of a bound atom decreases as {ital B} increases, the statistical weight due to transverse motion is actually increased by the strong magnetic field. For the astrophysically interesting case of relatively low density and temperature, we obtain analytic approximations for the partition functions. The highly excited bound states have a smaller statistical weight than the fully ionized component.
- OSTI ID:
- 122988
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review A, Vol. 52, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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