Influence of relativistic effects on electron-loss cross sections of heavy and superheavy ions colliding with neutral atoms

Abstract

The influence of relativistic effects, such as relativistic interaction and relativistic wave functions, on the electron-loss cross sections of heavy and superheavy atoms and ions (atomic number Z ≳ 92) colliding with neutral atoms is investigated using a newly created RICODE-M computer program. It is found that the use of relativistic wave functions changes the electron-loss cross section values by about 20–30% around the cross-section maximum compared to those calculated with nonrelativistic wave functions. At relativistic energies E ≥ 200 MeV/u, the relativistic interaction between colliding particles leads to a quasiconstant behavior of the loss cross sections σ EL rel ∼ const, to be compared with the Born asymptotic law σ EL ∼ lnE/E.