Formation of an effective electric field in track regions during the stopping of fast heavy charged particles in materials

A microscopic approach is used to study the formation of an electric field near the trajectories of fast heavy charged particles propagating in various materials. The analysis is based on determining the space—time distribution function of the fast δ-electrons generated when heavy ions are stopped in materials and the electric current produced by them. The spatial dependence of the electric field strength is determined at various times. The results are used to analyze the process of electric field energy transfer to the ionic subsystem. The spatial distribution of the energy acquired by the ionic subsystem from the electric field is determined over its characteristic lifetime. A mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of track regions both as a result of the higher local heating of the ionic subsystem and as a result of the possible irreversible displacement of the atoms from nodal points.