Simulation of atomic ionization following the α decay of the nucleus

When the nucleus of an atom decays by emitting an α particle, the surrounding electrons are perturbed and the atom may be ionized. We consider two types of schematic one-dimensional models, I and II, that simulate this ionization process. In model I the α particle is treated as a classical point charge that is emitted by the nucleus at a certain time and travels out at constant speed. This model simulates Migdal's method, on which virtually all …