Correlation effects in cluster-ion-beam stopping

The use of cluster-ion beams as alternative drivers in inertial confinement fusion promises high specific energy deposition due to the low cluster velocities and hence rather short ranges in the target. Correlation effects related to the vicinity of the fragment ions can further enhance the energy loss compared with individual ions. We take into account this correlated stopping and the Coulomb explosion of cluster ions to determine their specific energy deposition in plasmas. The enhancement of energy deposition due to correlation effects depends strongly on the target conditions and is of the order of some percent. (orig.)