Influence of energy losses on charge distribution of fast ions passing through solid matter

Abstract

The charge distribution of fast multicharged ions passing through a matter is studied taking ion energy losses into account. Within the framework of the proposed method, we show that the changes in the charge exchange cross-sections, caused by the decreasing of ion energy, affect the process of the formation of the equilibrium ion charge distribution. The target thickness, required for obtaining the equilibrium ion charge distribution, reaches the maximum value for ions without electrons and hydrogen-like ions. The equilibrium target thickness increases with increasing in ion nuclear charge and energy and for fast heavy ions becomes comparable with their range.