We propose an empirical formula for the static field ionization rates of atoms and molecules by extending the well-known analytical tunnelling ionization rates to the barrier-suppression regime. The validity of this formula is checked against ionization rates calculated from solving the Schrödinger equation for a number of atoms and ions. The empirical formula retains the simplicity of the orig...

Thin shells in general relativity have been used in the past as keystones to obtain realistic models of cosmological and astrophysical situations. A crucial role for these developments was played by the compact description of their dynamics in terms of Israel’s junction conditions. Starting from this geometrical formulation we present a problem related to the WKB regime of shell dynamics and su...