Charge Transfer Cross Sections for Dysprosium and Cerium

Abstract

Symmetric charge transfer cross sections between singly ionized ions and their parent atoms were measured for dysprosium and cerium in the impact energy range of 100–2000 eV. The primary ion beam was extracted from a laser ion source in which the atoms were ionized by laser resonant photo-ionization. The slow ions produced in the charge transfer reaction and the fast primary ions were detected with Faraday cups. The cross sections were determined from the ratio between the number of ions produced in the charge transfer reaction and that of the primary ion beam. Average values of obtained cross sections were 1.8×10-14 cm2 for dysprosium and 0.9×10-14 cm2 for cerium in the above energy range. The considerable difference between these values was explained by considering the electronic configurations of related atoms and ions.