Molecular effects in the energy spectra of ion-induced secondary electrons from gold

Energy distribution curves of true secondary electrons emitted from a massive gold target have been measured for incident H+, H2+, H3+ and He+ ions of high energy. A comparison of the spectra induced by the one and two electron systems H2+, H3+ and He+ with those for proton impact reveals characteristic differences which are explained by the role of the projectile electron(s) in binary collisions: either by screening the nuclear charges of the projectile in distant collisions or by additional electron production as a result of electron loss from the projectile. (orig.)