Quasimolecular K X-ray excitation by bombardment of Ge atoms with Ge ions

By bombardment of Ge targets with ⁷⁴₃₂Ge⁵⁺ of 81 MeV, a continuous X-ray intensity distribution has been obtained, which ranges up to the K X-ray energies of ₆₄Gd. The shape of the spectra, corrected for the detector efficiency, confirms the assumption that this continuum is caused by K X-rays of Z = 64 quasimolecules, which are transiently formed during the adiabatic heavy-ion collision. The yield of quasimolecular radiation was determined to be about 4 x 10⁻⁵ X-rays per beam K-vacancy.