Coherence and correlation in doubly excited heliumlike atoms

We analyze properties of the density matrix of doubly excited two-electron systems formed in inelastic collisions. Formulas for the two-particle joint angular probability density, the angular correlation function, and the reduced single-particle density are derived. Of particular interest is the interplay between the intrinsic correlations of the stationary two-electron state and collisionally induced coherences. We focus on its effects on the correlated and single-particle motion of the electrons. If one chooses approximate stationary wave functions reflecting the approximate O(4)×{}O(4){⊃}O(4) dynamical symmetry, a simple quasiclassical interpretation of coherence and correlation in terms of shapes and modes of the relative motion of Kepler orbits can be given. The present description is applied to recent experimental results by Van der Straten and Morgenstern [Comments At. Mol. Phys. 19, 243 (1986)].