Mutual electron-ion interactions in electron impact ionization of a Ca beam

Summary We evaluate the role of electron-ion mutual interactions as a possible source of systematic errors in an experiment of electron impact ionization and excitation of an effusive Ca beam. By monitoring photons resulting from the impact excitation of a Ca resonant transition, the transmitted electron beam current by a sectored Faraday cup and total ion yields, we extract information about elementary processes responsible for ionization. We show that our diagnosis allows us to monitor the influence of the produced ionization on the elementary processes and on the density profile of the electro beam.