Quantum mechanical model of electronic stopping power for ions in a free electron gas

Abstract

The electronic stopping power of matter for energetic ions is analyzed in the coordinate system of the ions. This paper suggests the concept of considering electronic stopping power as the mean momentum transfer between the electronic gas ensemble, and the incident ion. For electron gas, the momentum transfer is the result of scattering caused by the incident ion. By summing the momentum transfer caused by all possible scattering events the stopping power for the incident ion can be calculated. Specifically for ions with the screened Columb potential, explicit analytic expressions for electronic stopping have been obtained for all energies in the nonrelativistic regime. The comparison with previous empirical and theoretical models shows the calculation is consistent with previous empirical results.