A boundary adapted spectral approach for breakup problems

Abstract

We present a spectral method to study three-body fragmentation processes. The basis set explicitly includes continuum asymptotic boundary conditions, and it is built upon generalized Sturmian functions. These functions are eigenvectors of a two-body problem where the magnitude of a potential is assumed as the eigenvalue. Comparison with a simple solvable analytical model demonstrates that our approach rapidly converges to the exact results, with basis sizes much smaller than other previous calculations. Preliminary calculations of H ionization by electron impact in the L = 0 approximation suggest that these convergence properties also apply to long-range Coulomb problems.