STRIPPING PROPERTIES OF A PLASMA MEDIUM FOR MEV/U CHLORINE IONS

Clear experimental evidence of plasma stripping enhancement for 1.5 MeV/u chlorine ions is contrasted with its cold gas homologue at the same density (1×1019 e-/cm-2). The plasma is created by an electrical discharge in hydrogen and diagnosed with optical spectroscopic methods and beam probe analysis. The velocity dependence for the charge distributions is modeled both in cold gas and in plasma experiments. The calculations are found to be in good agreement with the hypothesis of a strongly reduced capture rate in the plasma case. Those results document quantitatively the basic mechanisms underlying the enhanced ion projectile charge in a plasma target. They also add credence to currently advocated scenarios for heavy-ion-driven fusion. © 1995 The American Physical Society.