Inner-shell couplings in transiently formed superheavy quasimolecules

The inner-shell couplings for Uq+-ions (73⩽q⩽91) moving moderately slow at ∼69 MeV u−1 and bombarding thin Au targets have been investigated. Having established the definite survival probability of incoming projectile K vacancies in these targets in an earlier publication, the transfer of these vacancies to the target K-shell due to inner-shell couplings has been studied. As the system is in the quasiadiabatic collision regime for the K-shell of collision partners, advanced SCF-DFS (self-consistent field-Dirac–Fock–Slater) multielectron level diagrams have been used for interpretation. Using a simple model, the L–K shell coupling interaction distance has been estimated and compared with level diagram calculations.