Fisher-Shannon analysis of ionization processes and isoelectronic series

Abstract

The Fisher-Shannon plane which embodies the Fisher information measure in conjunction with the Shannon entropy is tested in its ability to quantify and compare the informational behavior of the process of atomic ionization. We report the variation of such an information measure and its constituents for a comprehensive set of neutral atoms, and their isoelectronic series including the mononegative ions, using the numerical data generated on 320 atomic systems in position, momentum, and product spaces at the Hartree-Fock level. It is found that the Fisher-Shannon plane clearly reveals shell-filling patterns across the periodic table. Compared to position space, a significantly higher resolution is exhibited in momentum space. Characteristic features in the Fisher-Shannon plane accompanying the ionization process are identified, and the physical reasons for the observed patterns are described.