Within the Atomic Physics group, the central research topic is the physics of highly charged ions. Fundamental as well as application directed aspects are studied.
Multicharged ions play an important role in all kinds of plasmas.
Collisions of highly charged ions with atoms, molecules or surfaces are characterized by the exchange of one or many electrons. The resulting spectra can be regarded as the fingerprint of the exchange processes resulting from the collision. We use both electron and photon spectroscopy to obtain information on the primary electron exchange processes and to test theoretical predictions.