Orientation dependence in multiple ionization of He 2 and Ne 2 induced by fast, highly charged ions: Probing the impact-parameter-dependent ionization probability in 11.37-MeV/u S 14 + collisions with He and Ne

Abstract

We investigate orientation effects in the fragmentation of He2 and Ne2 induced by S14+ projectiles at an impact energy of 11.37 MeV/u. Multiple ionization shows a strong dependence on the orientation of the dimer axis with respect to the projectile beam axis. We attribute these effects to the impact-parameter-dependent ionization probability P(b) for the atomic scattering process S14++He and S14++Ne and compare our data with a Monte Carlo simulation. © 2014 American Physical Society.