Differential cross sections for ionization of methane, ammonia, and water vapor by high velocity ions

Cross sections, differential in the energy of secondary electrons, for ionization of methane, ammonia, and water vapor by high energy protons are presented. The results are based on a model that uses photoabsorption and ion impact ionization data to evaluate the coefficients in Bethe's asymptotic cross section for inelastic scattering of high velocity ions. Model cross sections are compared with previously published data and new data on ionization of methane and water vapor by 3.0 and 4.2 MeV protons. The simple, analytic model should be very useful in transport calculations where differential ionization cross sections over a broad range of primary and secondary energies are needed