Influence of electron capture on the X-ray emission of heavy ions passing through solid targets

Charge-state distributions and the population of x-ray emitting states

“…These assumptions are a simplified approach for the description of atomic collision processes but resemble some reality. The grouping of the K-and L-shell electrons is suggested by the dependence of the cross sections for electron capture and loss on the binding energy of the electronic shells [5]. Neglecting excited states in the M-and higher shells is justified due to the consideration of the ionic radius and the typical interatomic distance in solid materials.…”

“…Due to the large cross sections for outer-shell electron rearrangement (10 -16 cm 2) [1][2][3] the projectile will soon reach steady-state excitation in its outer shells when penetrating the target. Also for the states of the inner shells of the projectile the excitation processes and the deexcitation processes (electron capture, radiative and Auger decay) may balance each other for sufficiently thick target foils [4,5]. X-ray transitions in either the projectile or the target atom can be used to determine the state of the projectile inside the target or shortly after leaving the target [6 22].…”