Thorium and uranium M-shell x-ray production cross sections by 4.5–11.3 MeV carbon ion and 4.5–13.5 MeV oxygen ion bombardment

Abstract

The M-shell x-ray production cross sections for thorium and uranium have been measured for carbon ions with energies from 4.5 to 11.3 MeV with the charge state q increasing from 2 to 4, and oxygen ions with energies from 4.5 to 13.5 MeV with the charge state q increasing from 2 to 5. These cross sections are compared to the predictions of the first Born (PWBA+OBKN) and ECUSAR ionization theories, which were evaluated in a novel manner for the C+q and O+q energies and charge states of the data and converted to x-ray production cross sections with atomic parameters for a singly ionized M-shell and multiple ionization in the outer shells. Individual groups of M-shell transitions are also compared to the two ionization theories. The ECUSAR theory is shown to describe the measurements better than the first Born approximation. It is found to be in generally good agreement for all the total M-shell x-ray production and M-shell lines except for the Mγ cross sections. Reasons for the overestimation of the Mγ data are discussed.