Measured multipole moments of continuum electron transfer angular distributions

The velocity space distribution of electrons emitted near the forward direction from collisions involving fast, highly stripped oxygen ions with gaseous and solid targets is presented and described in terms of multipole moments of the ejected charge distribution, which permits direct comparison with recent theory. The measurements are produced by employing position-sensitive electron detection to combine emission angle definition with conventional electrostatic spectrometry. Agreement obtained between theory and distributions observed for binary continuum electron loss processes coupled with a similar multipole content observed with solid targets suggests a model of convoy electron production dominated by electron loss from the projectile within the bulk of the target. Further, the connection between multipoles of the projectile electron emission distribution in single collisions and the state of excitation of that projectile excited states may provide the basis for a probe of the state of ions traversing bulk solid matter. 14 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab