Electron capture in highly charged ion-atom collisions

An attempt is made to identify the most important mechanisms responsible for the rearrangement of electrons during collisions between multiply charged ions and atoms at keV energies. It is discussed to which extent the influence of binding energy, angular momentum of heavy particles and electrons, and electron-electron correlation on the dynamic processes can be understood by means of simple models. Collision systems comprising only one, two, or many active electrons are distinguished, since rigorous theoretical treatments for such systems are well established, just being developed or not yet available respectively.