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Ionization and fragmentation of uracil molecules (C4H4N2O2, m = 112 amu) in collisions with fast highly charged C, O and F ions have been investigated using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The measurement of total ionization cross sections (TCS) is reported for different charge states (q), such as Fq+ with q = 5-8; Oq+ with q = 5,7; Cq+ with q = 5 and 6. These studies reveal a (q/v)~1.5 dependence of TCS, in contrast, to the well-known q2-dependence in ion-atom collisions. Scaling properties of the TCS with projectile energy and charge states are obtained. The experimental results for TCS measurements are compared with the theoretical calculations performed within classical and quantum mechanical frameworks. The trends in energy dependence of the TCSs is qualitatively well reproduced by the different models and more specifically by the classical description, which provides the best agreement with measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have measured the double differential cross sections (DDCSs) for low energy electron emission from O₂ under the impact of 51 MeV bare carbon ions. This study is aimed at investigating the Young-type interference in electron emission from a multi-electronic diatomic molecule. The DDCS spectra, differential in emission energy and angle, are compared with state-of-the-art continuum distorted wave-eikonal initial state (CDW-EIS) calculations. The DDCS ratios (i.e. O₂/2O) do not produce any oscillatory behaviour due to the interference effect unlike that observed in the case of H2. The forward-backward angular asymmetry parameter, deduced from the measured DDCS values, is found to be a monotonically increasing function of electron velocity and does not show any oscillation. These observations are in qualitative agreement with the prediction of the molecular CDW-EIS model which uses a linear combination of atomic orbitals. The apparent absence of the oscillation in the spectra is qualitatively explained in terms of cancellation of contributions arising from different molecular orbitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The L x-ray intensities of 79Au, 82Pb and 83Bi have been measured in collisions with 18-60 MeV fluorine ions in an angular range 20°-75°. The Ll x-ray intensity, normalized to the intensity of other L x-ray lines in the same spectrum, shows an anisotropic emission pattern and the degree of anisotropy depends on the impact energy of the projectile. The alignment parameter values for the L₃ subshell, deduced from the measured anisotropy parameter for the Ll line, have been compared with the theoretical ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an experimental determination of the 2p3d(¹Pº) → 1s3d(¹De) x-ray line emitted from He-like Si, S, and Cl projectile ions, excited in collisions with thin carbon foils, using a high-resolution bent-crystal spectrometer. A good agreement between the observation and state-of-the-art relativistic calculations using the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock formalism including the Breit interaction and QED effects implies the dominance of fluorescent decay over the autoionization process for the 2p3d(¹Pº) state of He-like heavy ions. This is the first observation of the fluorescence-active doubly excited states in He-like Si, S, and Cl ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water ice exists on many objects in space. The most abundant icy species, among them water, are present in the icy satellites of the outer Solar System giant planets. The nuclei of comets, which are mainly composed of water ice, give another example of its abundance. In the interstellar medium (ISM), ice mantles, formed by molecular species sticking on dust grains, consist mainly of water ice. All these objects are exposed to ionizing radiation like ions, UV photons, and electrons. Sputtering of atoms, molecules, ions, and radicals from icy surfaces may populate and maintain exospheres of icy objects in the Solar System. In other respects, ionized hydrides such as OH + , H 2 O + , and H 3 O + have been detected in the gas phase in star-forming regions. Interactions with cosmic rays could be an additional explanation to the current models for the formation of those species. In fact, laboratory simulations showed that the main components of the sputtered ionic species from water ice are oxygen hydrides. In this work, water ice targets were irradiated at several temperatures (10-200 K) by 90 keV O 6+ ions, yielding an electronic stopping power of about 12 eV/Å, when the nuclear stopping power is comparable to the electronic stopping power. Sputtering of secondary ions after bombardment of the ice target was analyzed by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). Besides hydrogen ions (H + , H 2 + , H 3 + ), also O + , O 2+ , OH + , (H 2 O) + , and clusters of (H 2 O) n = 1-8 are emitted. Our results show a progressive yield decrease with increasing temperature of all of the detected species. This is related to the structure of the ice: the ionic sputtering yield for crystalline ice is much lower than for an amorphous ice. For instance, amorphous ice at 10 K exhibits a yield of the order of 2 × 10 + with n = 1-8 are emitted. Our results show a progressive yield decrease with increasing temperature of all of the detected species. This is related to the structure of the ice: the ionic sputtering yield for crystalline ice is much lower than for an amorphous ice. For instance, amorphous ice at 10 K exhibits a yield of the order of 2 × 10 -6 secondary (H 2 O) n H + hydride ions/projectile (with n = 1-8). As the temperature is increasing toward the phase transition to crystalline ice, the yields decrease by about one order of magnitude.