Abstract
It is well known that the density of the target can have a crucial impact on charge-changing collisions of partially ionized heavy ions. However, the basic understanding of this experimental observation is hampered by the difficulty in knowing the charge-state evolution of projectiles inside solids. Therefore, the present experiments with bare and H-like nickel ions were performed to study charge-changing cross sections in different monatomic and compound gases and solids. The experimental results clearly demonstrate that the electron-loss cross sections in solids increase by about 40% compared to gases. The results support the Bohr-Lindhard model which predicts this gas-solid difference originating from enhanced ionization of excited ions. The experimental results are compared with recent theoretical estimates.
- Received 7 October 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.75.020703
©2007 American Physical Society