Inner-shell excitation in heavy-ion endash solid-target collisions

In this Rapid Communication an ab initio approach to the inner-shell charge-transfer process in heavy-ion endash solid-target collisions is presented. Unlike the extensively studied ion endash gas-target systems heavy-ion endash solid-target measurements showed systematic deviations from available theories. These deviations were interpreted as revealing a fundamental difference between collisions with gas and those with solid targets. Within the framework of our relativistic formalism a quantitative description of heavy-ion endash solid-target charge-transfer processes is reached, thus laying to rest the old problem of solid-target effects. As an example, the results for Cu on a Ni solid target are discussed. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society