Projectile Charge Effects in Differential Ionization by Positrons and Electrons

Abstract

Differential data for single and double ionization of argon by positron and electron impact are presented and compared. For single ionization, coincidences between scattered projectiles, ejected electrons and recoil ions are measured as functions of the projectile scattering angle and energy loss. Differences associated with the sign of the projectile charge are indicated with regard to the scattering angle, the energy loss, and the relative intensities for binary and recoil events. Ejected electron‐recoil ion coincidences are also measured as a function of the observation angle along the beam direction. From these, double to single ionization ratios are determined and compared. Differences in the magnitudes and angular dependences for positron and electron impact are attributed to the interference between the TS‐1 and TS‐2 double ionization mechanisms.