Correlated three-electron continuum states in triple ionization by fast heavy-ion impact - art. no. 022703

We have performed a kinematically complete experiment for triple ionization in atomic collisions. Data were obtained for 3.6-MeV/amu Au53+ impact on N e. A specific Dalitz representation was developed allowing one to plot in a single spectrum the energy of all three ionized electrons and, simultaneou sly, obtain information on their emission angles with respect to the projec tile direction. The data show distinct fragmentation patterns favoring very asymmetric energy partitionings with one fast and two slow electrons. They are compared to various Classical Trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) models. Th e experimental results are well described only if the electron-electron int eraction is included throughout the collision and surprisingly, if the clas sically modeled electrons are fully correlated in the initial state.