Theoretical Atomic Physics Studies: Classical Aspects of the Two-Body Problem in a Homogeneous Magnetic Field, and Electron Capture from Singly-Charged Magnesium Ions by Slow Proton Impact.

Available from UMI in association with The British Library. We investigate classically the problem of the centre-of-mass separation for a two-body system with net charge in a homogeneous magnetic field. With a view to general atomic physics applications, particular attention is paid to the case where one particle is very much heavier than the other. Using a series of canonical transformations we introduce constants of the motion as the new momenta and determine the new conjugate coordinates. Alternative momenta involving a suggested near-constant of the motion are investigated for use with a translation-invariant potential. These lead to a "near separation" in terms of two coupled particles characterised by vectors which possess a simple classical interpretation, even in the presence of an interaction potential. However we find that the coupling is not small and is not reduced when one of the particles is much heavier than the other, although the frequencies of the motions then differ widely.