Investigation of the passage of 100–1000-MeV/nucleon superheavy ions through homogeneous media

Abstract

This work is a continuation of the experimental and theoretical investigations of the effect of the Z ³₁ correction to the stopping power of ions on the passage of heavy ions ⁴⁰Ar, ⁵⁶Fe, ¹⁹⁷Au, ¹³¹Xe, and ²³⁸U with energies of about 1 GeV/nucleon through a homogeneous medium. The previously observed systematic deviations of the calculations based on the first Born approximation to the scattering of a particle by the atomic electrons in the medium from the experimental values of the total ionization ranges of the nuclei and their stopping powers is confirmed. The discrepancy increases with the atomic number of the projectile nucleus. It is shown that the Z ³₁ correction in the form proposed by Jackson and McCarthy eliminates, especially for ions with Z ₁>50, the systematic discrepancy between the computed and experimental values. For the experimental energy range relativistic Mott scattering of a particle by the atomic electrons in the target makes the dominant contribution to the observed Z ³₁ effect.