Three-Body Recombination in Ion–Atom Systems: Effects of Statistics and Universality

We investigate three-body recombination in ion–atom–atom collision systems using finite-range two-body interaction potentials. The study focuses on a charged ion interacting with two neutral atoms and examines how the recombination dynamics depend on the underlying particle statistics. We consider three distinct cases: an ion with two distinguishable atoms, an ion with two identical bosons, and an ion with two identical fermions. By comparing these scenarios, we analyze the influence of quantum statistics on recombination rates and threshold behavior. Furthermore, we explore the degree of universality of three-body recombination by employing different model interaction potentials and assessing the extent to which the results are insensitive to short-range details. Our findings provide insight into universal and non-universal aspects of ion–atom–atom collisions and contribute to a deeper understanding of few-body processes in hybrid ion–atom systems.