Spin effects in the screening and Auger neutralization of He ions in a spin-polarized electron gas

The screening of a He⁺ ion embedded in a free electron gas is studied for different spin-polarizations of the medium. Density functional theory and the local spin density approximation are used to calculate the induced electronic density for each spin orientation, i.e. parallel or antiparallel to the spin of the electron bound to the ion. Since both the He⁺ ion and the electron gas are spin-polarized, we analyze in detail the spin state of the screening cloud for the two different possibilities: the spin of the bound electron can be parallel to either the mayority spin or the minority spin in the medium. Finally, the spin-dependent Kohn–Sham orbitals are used to calculate the Auger neutralization rate of the He⁺ ion. The polarization of the Auger excited electron is influenced by the spin-polarization of the medium. The results are discussed in terms of the spin-dependent screening and the indistinguishability of electrons with the same spin state.