Enhancement of low energy electron-ion recombination in a magnetic field: Influence of transient field effects

The experimentally observed enhancement of electron-ion recombination at low relative energies is still a widely open problem. During the merging of an electron and an ion beam in the electron cooler of the storage ring a transient motional electric field is present in the rest frame of the ion which, in turn, may open an additional pathway for free-bound transitions of electrons. We present simulations performed for the toroidal merging geometry of the TSR in Heidelberg. Very high Rydberg states, typically n ⩾ 400, are found to be populated during the merging process. Radiative stabilization of these Rydberg states inside the solenoid can contribute to the observed enhancement.