Inner-shell ionization by relativistic electron impact

K-, L andM-shell ionization cross sections have been measured for 23 elements, 12≦Z≦92, after bombardment with relativistic electrons, 15≦E ₀65MeV, by means of high resolution semiconductor detectors and a recently developed gas-scintillation proportional counter. For constant electron bombarding energyE ₀ the ionization cross sections follow a power law dependence,σ∽Z ^?α, and forE ₀=50MeV we deducedα =2.45±0.02 for theK shell andα=3.00 ±0.09 for theL shell. The observedZ dependence exhibits significant systematic deviations from theoretical predictions which exceed the experimental values up to 15 % at lowZ elements for theK shell and on the average about 11% for theL andM shell. The same behaviour of too low experimental values, i.e. an overestimation by the theory, is observed for the energy dependence of the cross sections for all shells. A scaling behaviour describing theZ andE ₀ dependence for allK-, L andM-shell data points is observed which also predicts the experimental values by other groups at lower and higher energies correctly. The comparsion of the measuredLΒ/Lα, andLγ/Lα intensity ratios for highZ elements with the values obtained by other groups in the energy range 0.3≦E₀≦1,000 MeV exhibits an increase with bombarding energy that cannot merely be explained by the energy dependence of the subshellionization cross sections for theL shell. An attempt to explain this effect with the change of the Coster-Kronig transition probability is described.     

Inner-shell ionization by positron and electron impact

Measurements of relative cross sections of K- and L-shell ionization of silver and gold targets by positron and electron impact at projectile energies of 30–70 keV are reported. The experiments were performed at the slow positron source TEPOS at the linac of the Strahlenzentrum. This source and the experimental equipment will be described briefly and the experimental results will be presented in detail. In addition, plane wave Born (PWBA) calculations were performed. They include an electron exchange term and the deceleration or acceleration of the incident projectile in the nuclear field of the target atom. The present experimental results agree well with these calculations; for L-shell ionization, they are at variance with a previous experiment where a different energy dependence was observed.     

Search for the density effect in inner-shell lonization by ultra relativistic electron impact

We have extended the measurements ofK-andL-shell ionization cross sections by electron impact into the ultra relativistic energy region, 0.9≦E≦2.0 GeV, in order to search for a saturation of the cross section. This phenomenon, which is due to the polarization of the target medium, is called density effect. It is predicted to occur at several hundred MeV impact energy and preferentially for lowZ target elements. Theoretical calculations are presented, based on the one-photon-exchange approximation. The absolute measurements of theK-andL-shell cross sections for Ni(K), Cu(K), Ag(K, L) and Au(L) performed at the 2.5 GeV electron synchrotron of the Bonn University, however, exhibit that the cross sections show no saturation but are still increasing. Furthermore, from theK X-ray yields, obtained at 0.9 and 2.0 GeV by bombarding the lowZ elements S, Ca, Mn, Ni and Ge, we obtain for the corresponding cross section ratio σ _K (2GeV)/σ _K (0.9GeV)=1.08±0.01 on the average. TheK X-ray yield of a composite Ca — Mn target amounts to $$[\sigma _K (Ca;2.0GeV)/\sigma _K (Mn;2.0GeV)]/[\sigma _K (Ca;0.9GeV/\sigma _K (Mn;0.9GeV)] = 0.99 \pm 0.02.$$ . All three results are in disagreement with theory. This severe discrepancy is discussed but the origin for it is not yet understood.     

Study of the background in the experiments of inner-shell ionization of atoms by positron impact

One of main difficulties in the experiments of inner-shell ionization of atoms by positron impact near threshold energy region is the relatively high low-energy background, which is caused by the deposited part of energy in semi-conductor X-ray detectors of 0.511 MeV γ rays that are produced by positron annihilations in targets and target chamber. In this paper, by using the Monte Carlo method, we simulated the backgrounds for the X-ray detectors with the sensitive layer thickness of 0.3 mm and 3 mm in the case of 0.511 MeV γ rays impacting vertically on a Ti plate of 0.2 mm in thickness, and compared the simulation results with the experimental observations of the other research group and our own. Moreover, we also simulated the backgrounds for a simplified experimental setup in the case of 20 keV positrons impacting vertically on a thick Ti target and observed that the backgrounds for the X-ray detectors with the sensitive layer thickness of 0.3 mm and 3 mm, are very similar.     

快电子碰撞碳原子K-壳层电离的三重微分截面

利用3C、DS3C和S3C模型分别计算了共面非对称几何条件下快电子碰撞碳原子K-壳层电离的三重微分截面(TDCS),将S3C模型计算结果与其它理论结果和实验数据进行了比较.表明:内壳层电离的TDCS呈现出一强的recoil峰,对于某些参量,recoil峰甚至高于binary峰.这一点与外壳层电离过程不相同.S3C模型能够较好地描述这样的电离过程.?     

Triple differential cross sections for the ionization of water by electron and positron impact

Triple differential cross section calculations for the ionization of several valence orbitals of the water molecule by electron and positron impact are reported. We found a very good agreement with the experimental data in case of the almost spherical 2A₁ orbital. By changing the projectile’s charge, significant differences were observed between the electron and positron TDCSs.     

Energy-sharing asymmetries in ionization by positron impact

The triply differential cross section of molecular hydrogen for ionization by 50 eV positrons has been determined, for the first time, for both the ejected electron in coincidence with the remnant ion and for the scattered projectile. Asymmetries in the energy sharing between the two light particles in the final state are observed, with the electron spectrum being shifted to significantly lower (and the scattered positron to correspondingly higher) energies than expected. A similar shape is observed in the case of the ejected electron spectrum from a helium target at the same excess energy.     

Post-collision interaction in inner-shell ionisation of ArL 3 by electron impact

The shifts and shapes of ArL ₃ Auger lines due to the post-collision interaction (PCI) in the inner-shell ionisation of theL ₃-shell of argon by electron impact have been measured for the range of excess energiesE ₁=10 to 1,500 eV. The experimental shifts {ie67-01} could be fitted by a relation {ie67-02} withc=(5.3±0.4) andn= (?0.45±0.04) whereГ(ArL ₃)=130 meV is the ArL ₃-level width. In a classical model the PCI shifts have been calculated for two limiting cases:a) whereE ₁ is large enough (E ₁>50 eV) for the motion of the two slow electrons to be treated as uncorrelated, andb) forE ₁→0. The calculated shifts forE ₁=250, 750 and 1,750 eV are in good agreement with the experimental results. Also the calculated PCI distorted shapes of Auger lines for differentE ₁ agree reasonably with the experimental Auger line shapes.     

Velocity dependence of double inner-shell ionization in vanadium by proton and α-particle impact

Ratios of double (KL) to single (K) ionization cross sections for proton and α-particle impact on vanadium are measured with velocities V = 0.53 to 1.7 (in units relative to the L-shell electron velocity) and are found to be reproduced by the recipe of McGuire and Richard.     

Symmetric scattering in electron and positron impact ionization of metastable 2s-state hydrogen atoms

Triple differential cross sections for ionization of hydrogen atoms in the metastable 2s-state by the impact of electrons and positrons have been calculated for coplanar symmetric geometry. In this calculation a multiple scattering theory due to Das [10] and Das and Seal [11] has been used. An analysis of the results reveals that unlike scattering from the ground state, scattering from 2s-state is essentially a higher order process except for the binary collision direction. Moreover, here, the cross section results for 2s-state are much larger compared to those for scattering from the ground state. It is also found that the ionization mechanism at large scattering angles for ionization from the 2s-state is different from that for ionization from the ground state.     

Triple ionization of lithium by electron impact

Ejection of the three electrons from lithium in a single electron collision has been observed for the first time. Triply charged lithium was observed in an ion time-of-flight spectrum following electron impact on a sample of ultracold, trapped lithium. The higher signal/background afforded by the trap environment made the observation of Li3+ possible. We measured the ratios of triple-to-double and double-to-single ionization at an impact energy of 1000 eV. The 3+/2+ ratio is approximately 0.001, a value 2 orders of magnitude lower than semiempirical predictions. We present a simple method that uses photoionization data combined with sum-rule analysis to predict the asymptotic charge-state ratios. The sum-rule predictions compare reasonably with experiment and shake calculations, but disagree sharply with the semiempirical estimates.     

Role of final state correlations in electron and positron impact ionization of H and He

Single ionization of H and double ionization of He are investigated using a multiple scattering approach and a correlated final state wavefunction, which satisfies the correct asymptotic condition for the electron and positron impact ionization of atoms. Analyses presented here show the influence of the Coulomb correlations in the final state on the three- and fivefold differential cross sections. Situations are discussed in which consideration of every pair of electron-electron and/or electron-positron correlation in the final state becomes important for physically satisfactory results.     

Inner-shell ionization of atoms by electron,positron and photon impacts

Plane wave Born approximation with Coulomb, relativistic and exchange corrections is employed to obtain L1-, L2- and L3-subshell ionization cross sections of several atoms due to electron and positron impacts for projectile energy varying from the threshold of ionization to 60 times the threshold energy. Photoionization cross sections for all the three L-subshells of the atoms are also calculated using the hydrogenic approximation for the atomic wave functions. For L3-subshell the present cross sections due to electron impact are in good agreement with a number of experimental data for different atoms over the entire energy range investigated. For L1- and L2-subshells the present calculations yield qualitative agreement with the experimental data. The agreement between the present results and the limited experimental data for positron impact is also satisfactory. The hydrogenic approximation for the L-subshell photoionization is found to be good at small photon energies but it underestimates the cross sections at large photon energies.     

Double ionization of helium by relativistic highly charged ion impact

We consider an interesting realization of the fundamental four-body problem: double ionization of helium in superintense electromagnetic fields generated by highly charged ions in relativistic collisions. We show how the simultaneous interaction of such fields with all three target constituents (which is not described by first-order theory) strongly influences the collision dynamics even at very high collision energies and how a “genuine” photoemission-like pattern may emerge in collisions at extreme relativistic energies. A very good agreement with available experimental data is obtained.     

Single and double ionization of lead by electron impact

Theoretical calculations of electron impact single and double ionization cross-sections for ground state lead atoms have been performed in the binary encounter approximation (BEA) in the energy region ranging from respective near thresholds to 3000 eV. The accurate expression for (cross-section for energy transfer including exchange and interference as given by Vriens and Hartree-Fock velocity distributions for the target electrons have been used throughout the calculations. It is concluded that beyond 10.64 eV impact energy single ionization cross-sections are well explained by considering ionization of 6p and 6s shells only. The direct double ionization cross-sections obtained theoretically cannot explain the recent experimental observations. Inclusion of contributions of the Auger effect due to vacancy in 5d and 5p shells brings the results of double ionization cross-sections in reasonably good agreement with the experimental data. The identification of the shells whose ionization leads to the Auger effect contributing to double ionization is a remarkable aspect of the present investigation.Received: 15 January 2004, Published online: 30 March 2004PACS: 34.80.Dp Atomic excitation and ionization by electron impact     

Single and double ionization of gallium by electron impact

Electron impact single and double ionization cross sections of gallium have been calculated in the binary encounter approximation using accurate expression for σ_Δ;E including exchange and interference as given by Vriens and Hartree-Fock velocity distributions for the target electrons throughout the calculations. It is concluded that the ionization of 3d shell contributes partly to single ionization and partly to double ionization. The results so obtained show reasonably good agreement with the experimental data.     

Absolute cross-section measurements of inner-shell ionization

Cross section ratios for K- and L-shell ionization of thin silver and gold targets by positron and electron impact have been determined at projectile energies of 30–70 keV. The experimental results are confirmed by calculations in plane wave Born approximation (PWBA) which include an electron exchange term and account for the deceleration or acceleration of the incident projectile in the nuclear field of the target atom. We report first absolute cross sections for K- and L-shell ionization of silver and gold targets by lepton impact in the threshold region. We have measured the corresponding cross sections for electron (e^–) impact with an electron gun and the same experimental set-up.     

Self-guiding electromagnetic beams in relativistic electron–positron plasmas

Nonlinear interaction of an intense electromagnetic (EM) beam with relativistically hot electron–positron plasma is investigated by invoking the variational principle and numerical simulation, resting on the model of generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation with saturating nonlinearity. The present analysis shows the dynamical properties including the possibilities of trapping and wave-breaking of EM beams. These properties of EM beams may give a significant clue for the gamma-ray burst.