Effects of the target polarization on the diagnostics of spin-polarized heavy ions

The radiative capture of free electrons into bound states of highly charged, hydrogen-like ions is studied within the framework of the density matrix theory. In this formalism, based on Dirac's equation, we investigate how the linear polarization of the emitted (X-ray) photons is affected if the projectile ions and the target electrons are both spin-polarized. Computations are carried out for the linear polarization of the emitted radiation following the capture of partially polarized electrons into the 1s2 ground state of completely polarized bismuth ions (Bi82+), using a wide range of projectile energies.