Chapt er 13

Cr o s s S e c t i o n
De t e r mi n a t i o n
13. 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n
In rel at i vi st i c at omi c collisions, cross sections of i nt erest are t hose descri bed
in Chaps. 6 to 10: exci t at i on, ionization, charge exchange ( capt ur e) , radi a-
tive processes, and el ect r on- posi t r on pai r product i on. The present chapt er
descri bes exper i ment al approaches to t he measur ement of such cross sec-
tions.
Even t hough cer t ai n cross sections are rel at ed t heoret i cal l y, such as
exci t at i on and ionization, qui t e different exper i ment al met hods may be used
for t hei r det er mi nat i on, such as proj ect i l e charge change for i oni zat i on and
phot on emission for exci t at i on. Conversely, i oni zat i on and capt ur e cross
sections, which are t heor et i cal l y qui t e di st i nct , bot h can be measur ed by
proj ect i l e charge change.
In general, differential cross sections provide more det ai l ed t est s of t he
t heor y t han t ot al cross sections. Hence, it would be desirable, for exampl e,
t o measur e t he i mpact par amet er dependence of t hese cross sections. In
Sec. 3.2.2, it is poi nt ed out , t hough, t hat t he uncer t ai nt y pri nci pl e limits
t he i mpact par amet er det er mi nat i on in at omi c collisions. Despi t e t hi s lim-
i t at i on, one can al ways measur e differential cross sections as a funct i on of
t he proj ect i l e scat t er i ng angle in t he l abor at or y syst em and make compar-
isons wi t h t heor et i cal expressi ons comput ed similarly. Section 13.2.3 below
discusses a par t i cul ar l y powerful met hod of scat t er i ng- angl e det er mi nat i on
for collisions in which l abor at or y scat t er i ng angles are very small, as in
rel at i vi st i c collisions.
347
348 CHAPTER13. CROSS SECTI ON DETERMI NATI ON
The measurement of cross sections is i nt i mat el y connected wi t h t he
nat ur e and arrangement of detectors. Therefore, a brief review of detectors
is given first, which have been found useful in relativistic collision studies.
13. 2 De t e c t o r s
In relativistic atomic collisions, one often needs t o separat e the charge st at es
of projectile ions emerging from a t arget , but it is usually not necessary to
det ermi ne t he energy of these particles accurately, except possibly to dis-
t i ngui sh t hem from nuclear debris. Thi s cont rast s wi t h nuclear collision
experi ment s in which it is i mport ant , typically, to det ermi ne particle ener-
gies well, but not charge states. Nevertheless, nuclear det ect i on techniques
are very useful in relativistic atomic-collision studies and reference is made
to some relevant reviews [Bro79,Tso83,Leo87,Kno89]. In t he future, one
can expect novel det ect i on met hods to be developed, such as those afforded
by superconduct i ng devices [Bar88, WaC89]. As atomic collision studies
ext end to ext reme relativistic regimes, techniques will be borrowed from
particle physics [Fer86,Kle86].
Gaseous ionization detectors, scintillation detectors, and semi conduct or
det ect ors all have found application in relativistic atomic cross section de-
t ermi nat i ons. Some of these det ect ors are position sensitive and can be used
in charge separat i on and angul ar di st ri but i on measurement s. El ect ron and
posi t ron det ect i on usually relies on electrostatic or magnet i c spect romet ers
in combi nat i on wi t h semi conduct or or scintillation detectors.
1 3 . 2 . 1 Ch a r g e - s t a t e d e t e c t i o n
El ect rost at i c deflection is not useful for relativistic ions because conve-
niently available electric fields exert insufficient forces on t he particles. For
this reason, magnet i c deflection has been used exclusively for charge st at e
separat i on and det ect i on of relativistic ions.
Fi gure 13.1 sketches a typical magnet i c spect romet er for experi ment s re-
quiring charge separat i on of relativistic ions. Projectiles in a single charge
st at e, selected upst r eam by magnet i c deflection, pass t hrough a chamber
in which t arget foils can be inserted by remot e control. The beam is refo-
cused onto t he det ect or by a pair of quadrupol e magnet s Q and separat ed
by dipole magnet s M. The particles are energetic enough to emerge into
air t hr ough a Mylar window on t he deflection chamber. Position-sensitive
ionization chambers, multiwire proport i onal detectors, and parallel-plate
avalanche det ect ors have been used for detection [BoK75,BrP86,ScB91].
13.2. DETECTORS 349
TARGET AREA
POSITION SENSITIVE
IONIZATION CHAMBER
Q
/
~"~.4 ~ . . . .
M
Fi g u r e 13. 1. Sketch of t he magnet i c separat i on ar r angement used at t he
Lawrence Berkeley Labor at or y for relativistic ion beams. A beam in a single
charge st at e enters a t arget chamber where foils can be inserted by remot e con-
trol. Beam focusing ont o t he det ect or is accomplished by t he quadrupol e pair
Q and deflection by t he dipole magnet s M. The particle det ect or can be moved
Mong t he exit window of t he deflection chamber. From [GoG85].
q+
A
q + l
M4 ~ --A -" - - I - 1
A ' M1 . / / ~ l ~ P
' ~ . / D1
' A q i L . - ]
~ ' ~ A q+ / / T
C M2 M3
I' ; I
D2
Fi g u r e 13. 2. Exper i ment al ar r angement for phot on measur ement s at t he
nucl ear-fragment separat or (FRS) at GSI, Germany. The location of bendi ng
magnet s M1 - M4 is shown. The incident beam is denot ed by A. A st ri pper
S prepares a range of charge states. A collimator C selects t he desired charge
st at e q+. Phot ons from t he t arget T are det ect ed in t he angl e-subdi vi ded detec-
tors D1 and D2, which allow for accurat e Doppler-shift corrections. Projectiles
wi t h different charges can be det ect ed in t he det ect ors P, which can be placed in
electronic coincidence wi t h t he phot on detectors. Adapt ed from [StM92].
350 CHAPTER13. CROSS SECTION DETERMINATION
81
9 82 83
79 80 84
, ,,. ~78
Fi gur e 13.3. Position spectrum of charge states in the arrangement of Fig.
13.1 for 960-MeV/u U 6s+ ions incident on a 7.1-mg/cm 2 Mylar foil in the target
chamber. The separation between adjacent charge states is approximately 1 cm.
From [CrG83].
Fi gur e 13.3 shows a t ypi cal char ge- separ at ed posi t i on spect r um. For
t he anal ysi s of such spect r a, it is i mpor t ant t ha t t he charge peaks be well
separ at ed from each ot her. Backgr ound count s bet ween t he peaks t ypi cal l y
are due to slit scat t er i ng or rest gas in t he beam line ups t r eam from t he
anal yzi ng magnet or due t o i nadequat e focusing.
1 3 . 2 . 2 Pa r t i c l e d e t e c t i o n
For rel at i vi st i c part i cl es, t wo-di mensi onal posi t i on-sensi t i ve part i cl e detec-
t ors have a di st i nct advant age over si mpl er det ect ors because t hey allow on-
line checking of beam focusing. Thi s is par t i cul ar l y i mpor t ant for cross sec-
t i on meas ur ement s rel yi ng on charge separat i on, as ment i oned above. Most
t wo-di mensi onal posi t i on-sensi t i ve det ect ors are gaseous and use pl anes of
wire grids t o define t he l ocat i on of a discharge, t ypi cal l y t o a fract i on of a
mi l l i met er. By sui t abl e adj us t ment of t he vol t age bet ween t he grids, t he
di scharge can be run in t he pr opor t i onal or in t he aval anche regime. The
former has t he advant age t ha t t he energy loss ( AE/ Ax ) can be det er mi ned,
13.2. DETECTORS 351
which allows for a crude identification of t he t ri ggeri ng particle. The lat-
t er has t he advant age t hat fast t i mi ng can be obt ai ned, which is useful for
coincidence measurement s.
Semi conduct or det ect ors, charge-coupl ed devices [LuH88], and mi-
crochannel pl at es [Wiz79] can also serve as t wo-di mensi onal det ect ors wi t h
posi t i on resol ut i on down to t ens of microns. Such resol ut i ons are t oo fine
for beams from relativistic accelerators, but may be useful in relativistic
st orage rings as beams become more compact .
Solid scintillation det ect ors are most useful as veto count ers (Sec.
12.1.2). If it is desired t o measure t he t ot al energy of a particle, solid
or liquid organic scintillators are sui t abl e det ect ors, or sodi um iodide or
bi smut h ger manat e, if compact ness is essential.
1 3 . 2 . 3 Re c o i l - i o n d e t e c t i o n
As not ed above, a measur ement of t he differential cross section as a function
of projectile scat t eri ng-angl e provides t heoret i cal l y i nt erest i ng details of
i oni zat i on and capt ur e processes. Fi gure 13.4 shows t he scat t eri ng angles
relevant for Ne+Xe t o U+He collisions (right and left sloped solid lines,
respectively), below which appr oxi mat el y 95% of t he t ot al ionization cross
section is comprised. Hence, one shoul d explore t he differential i oni zat i on
cross sections as a funct i on of scat t eri ng angle at angles smaller t han t hose
i ndi cat ed, but direct measur ement s of angles below 10 -5 rad (0.5 mm at
10 m) are ext remel y difficult. A met hod has been developed t o investigate
collisions wi t h scat t eri ng angles as small as 10 - s rad, which is applicable
t o relativistic projectiles.
The met hod relies on t he fact t hat t he moment um component of a re-
coiling t ar get ion per pendi cul ar to t he beam di rect i on is a direct measure of
t he proj ect i l e l abor at or y- scat t er i ng angle, which is pract i cal l y i ndependent
of t he inelasticity (Q-value) of t he collision. 1 Hence, by measuri ng t he ve-
locity component of t he recoiling ion perpendi cul ar to t he beam di rect i on
by t i me of flight, t he proj ect i l e-scat t eri ng angle can be inferred for close
collisions. At large i mpact par amet er s, wi t h small moment um t ransfer, t he
summed moment a of t he emi t t ed electrons may influence t he t ar get recoil
moment um appreci abl y [DoU91]. If t he flight pat h normal t o t he beam
di rect i on has a l engt h 1 and t he flight t i me is t, t he correspondi ng projectile
1For an elastic, relativistic collision at large i mpact paramet ers, t he t arget recoil
moment um, equal to t he moment um change of t he projectile, lies nearly perpendi cul ar
to t he beam direction. For an inelastic collision, t he t arget recoil moment um is no longer
perpendi cul ar t o t he beam direction, but its perpendi cul ar component is pract i cal l y
i ndependent of t he Q-value [U1S88].
352 CHAPTER 13. CROSS SECTION DETERMI NATI ON
10 3
: ~ 102
t m
L _
c 101
LLJ
G )
U
Q )
9 ~, 10 0
D_
10 -1
LIJ
(D
! , , I
95% of
t o t a t i o n i z a t i o n
, , , ~ . . . . I . . . . . . . . ! . . . . . . . . I , , , i , , ! _~
lO_e2 5 1 0 _7 2 5 10_ 62 5 10_ 52 5 10_ L 2
P r oj ecti l e S c a t t e r i n g Angl e ~ / ta d
Fi gur e 13. 4. Projectile laboratory-scattering angle versus projectile kinetic en-
ergy for Ne+Xe (right sloped line) to U+He collisions (left sloped line). Most
other collision systems lie in the shaded region between these lines. This region
corresponds to a target recoil energy of 0.1 eV, below which approximately 95%
of the ionization cross section in these collisions is comprised. The vertical line
on the left indicates the range of kinetic energies available at the GSI heavy-ion
synchrotron (SIS). The vertical line on the right indicates the lower limit of scat-
tering angles typically accessible by direct measurement. The solid dots denote
systems which had been studied by the recoil method at the time of publication.
From [U1D91].
scat t er i ng angle in t he l abor at or y syst em is given by
MT 1/t
0 -- ~pMp v ' (13.1)
wher e MT and Mp are t he t ar get and proj ect i l e masses, respectively, and '~p
and v are t he proj ect i l e Lor ent z fact or and velocity. By using gases cool ed
t o 20~ or less, recoil energies can be det er mi ned t o +5 meV accuracy, but
careful geomet r i cal r est r i ct i ons must be i mposed on t he recoil-ion beam.
An efficient recoil-ion s pect r omet er design is sket ched in Fig. 13.4, whi ch
allows t he full vect or mome nt um of t he recoiling t ar get at oms t o be det er-
mi ned. The i nt ri nsi c recoil vel oci t y Vcou is super posed on t he vel oci t y Vj e t
of a cr yo- pump cooled (14 ~ supersoni c j et [SCB88]. Appl yi ng a small,
very homogeneous, electric field of appr oxi mat el y 1 V/ c m, a large por t i on
13.2. DETECTORS 353
PSCD
2cm
Fi gure 13. 5. Recoil-ion spect romet er with a large collection efficiency. A su-
personic jet with a velocity Vjet serves as t he target. After collision with the
projectile, t he velocity of t he recoiling t arget ion is Vjet n t- Vcoll. An external elec-
tric field ext ract s t he ions which t hen drift toward a position-sensitive det ect or
PSCD. From time of flight and position measurement s, t he original moment um
component s of t he recoil ions can be calculated. From [MeD94].
of t he recoi l i ng t a r ge t ions is pr oj e c t e d t owar d a t wo- di mens i onal posi t i on-
sensi t i ve channel - pl at e det ect or . Fr om t he i mpact coor di nat es on t he de-
t ect or , t wo vel oci t y c ompone nt s can be i nferred. The t hi r d c ompone nt is
obt a i ne d f r om a t i me of flight me a s ur e me nt , wi t h r es pect t o an el ect r on or
phot on r el eased in t he collision.
Wi t h such a s pe c t r ome t e r , t he i nel ast i ci t y of an at omi c collision can
be det er mi ned, as mani f es t ed in t he recoil mo me n t u m c ompone nt par al l el
t o t he i nci dent beam. A mo me n t u m r esol ut i on of ~ 0.1 a. u. is expect ed
even for r el at i vi st i c beams . Fr om t he t r ans ver s e c ompone nt , whi ch has a
r es ol ut i on of ~ 0.02 a. u. , t he pr oj ect i l e- s cat t er i ng angl e can be i nf er r ed for
close collisions, as me nt i one d above.
1 3 . 2 . 4 E l e c t r o n , p o s i t r o n , a n d p a i r d e t e c t o r s
In r el at i vi st i c at omi c collision exper i ment s , one may wi sh t o de t e r mi ne t he
ener gy and angul ar di s t r i but i on of el ect r ons, posi t r ons, or pai rs. Gas eous
354 CHAPTER 13. CROSS SECTI ON DETERMI NATI ON
Fi gur e 13.6. Solenoidal spectrometer for the detection of electron-positron pairs
with the target near the center of the spectrometer. Electrons and positrons
are detected at both ends of the spectrometer in semiconductor detectors to
increase the efficiency. Separation is assured by the opposite spiraling of the
leptons. Scattered ions are detected in parallel-plate avalanche counters marked
"HI-Detectors." From [BoF91].
det ect or s and semi conduct or det ect ors which are unabl e t o st op t hese lep-
t ons are not par t i cul ar l y useful, except as focal-plane det ect ors for spect ro-
graphs. Sci nt i l l at i on det ect ors are ideal for el ect ron det ect i on, especially in
conj unct i on wi t h el ect rost at i c or magnet i c spect r omet er s. By assuri ng t ha t
t he energy signal in t he det ect or s mat ches t he energy expect ed on t he basis
of t he spect r al selection, backgr ound signals due to phot ons or scat t er ed
el ect rons can be el i mi nat ed. Various spect r omet er s are descri bed in [Sie68,
Bro79, Tso83]. For t he det ect i on of electrons wi t h energies exceeding
100 MeV, el ect r on- phot on shower count ers are useful [Fer86, Kle86].
Efficient solenoidal spect r omet er s for t he det er mi nat i on of t he energy
and angul ar di st r i but i ons of el ect ron-posi t ron pairs have been const r uct ed.
The source of t he pairs, i.e., t he t ar get , is pl aced ei t her at t he cent er of a
magnet i c solenoidal spect r omet er or t owar d one end [BoF91, CoC92, BeG93].
Fi gures 13.6 and 13.7 provi de sketches of t ypi cal designs. In t he design of
Fig. 13.6, segment ed semi conduct or det ect ors are pl aced at each end of
13.2. DETECTORS 355
Fi gur e 13.7. Advanced positron spectrometer. Electrons and positrons are
efficiently guided to dipole magnets outside of the spectrometer by soft-iron end-
plates (not shown) provided with holes. There, they are separated and detected
in plastic scintillators backed by sodium iodide detectors for the detection of an-
nihilation radiation. Events are detected in coincidence with the ion charge state,
determined by a large dipole magnet and by separate detectors for each charge
state. From [BEG93].
t he spect r omet er for det ect i on of electrons and posi t rons. To di st i ngui sh
t hese particles, t he respective semi conduct or det ect ors face t he opposi t el y
di rect ed spiral t raj ect ori es on either side of t he solenoid axis. Also, t hey
are sur r ounded by scintillation det ect ors in which signals from 0.51-MeV
anni hi l at i on phot ons are put in coincidence wi t h t he posi t r on- det ect or sig-
nals. For a given l ept on energy, t he flight t i me bet ween t he source and
t he semi conduct or det ect or can be used t o det ermi ne t he l engt h of t he spi-
ral t raj ect ory, and hence t he angle of i ncl i nat i on of t he orbi t wi t h respect
t o t he solenoid axis. By ray t raci ng, t he emission angle from t he source
can t hen be obt ai ned. In t hi s device, t he scat t ered ions are det ect ed in
posi t i on-sensi t i ve avalanche det ect ors.
In t he spect r omet er of Fig. 13.7, t he magnet i c field is ar r anged so t hat at
each end of t he spect romet er, electrons and posi t rons are efficiently gui ded
t hr ough a hole in a soft-iron endpl at e (not shown) into a dipole magnet .
There, t he l ept ons are separ at ed and det ect ed by scintillation det ect ors
wi t h anni hi l at i on r adi at i on identification, if needed. Ti me of flight is used
t o det ermi ne t he l ept on emission angles from t he t ar get wi t h respect t o t he
beam axis. The events are det ect ed in coincidence wi t h t he charge st at e of
t he ion, det er mi ned by magnet i c separ at i on and appr opr i at e det ect i on.
356 CHAPTER 13. CROSS SECTI ON DETERMI NATI ON
1 3 . 2 . 5 Ph o t o n d e t e c t o r s
In rel at i vi st i c at omi c collisions, one may wish t o det ect t ar get or proj ect i l e
x-rays, phot ons from radi at i ve el ect ron capt ur e or pr i mar y br emsst r ahl ung,
or secondar y br emsst r ahl ung. The l abor at or y energy of radi at i ve capt ur e
phot ons emi t t ed at an angle 0 wi t h respect t o t he i nci dent beam is given by
Eq. (9.9) in t er ms of t he proj ect i l e Lorent z fact or ~/. If 7 >> 1, t he phot on
energy becomes
me c2
hW ~ 1 -- ~ COS0" (13.2)
Typi cal l y, energies of t hese or ot her phot ons of i nt erest will not exceed ~10
MeV. Hence, phot on det ect ors nor mal l y used in nucl ear physics exper i ment s
are appr opr i at e, such as Si(Li) det ect or s for x-rays, wi t h t ypi cal resol ut i ons
of 0.1 - 0.2 keV, and Ge(Li), NaI, or bi smut h ger manat e det ect or s for
MeV phot ons, wi t h t ypi cal resol ut i ons of one, tens, or hundr eds of keV,
respectively. These det ect ors are descri bed in t he references given at t he
begi nni ng of Sec. 13.2.
13. 3 Cr o s s s e c t i o n me a s u r e me n t s
Thi s section discusses common feat ures of atomic-collision cross section
measur ement s. Subsequent sections refer t o par t i cul ar processes.
At omi c collision cross sections t ypi cal l y are obt ai ned by det ect i ng pho-
t ons or l ept ons (line or cont i nuum spect ra) from t he t ar get , t he projectile,
or t he collision syst em, by measur i ng t he charge st at es of t he proj ect i l e or
t ar get recoil i ons, or by a combi nat i on of t hese met hods. Absol ut e cross
sect i ons can be obt ai ned by normal i zi ng t he det ect ed phot on or l ept on
yield t o t he i nt egr at ed beam charge and t ar get thickness, by normal i zi ng
t o Rut her f or d scat t er ed proj ect i l es or recoil ions, or by count i ng i ndi vi dual
projectiles. If cross sections are obt ai ned from charge-changi ng met hods,
t hey are normal i zed t o t he t ot al number of i nci dent proj ect i l es (which is
very closely equal t o t he t ot al number of emergi ng projectiles) and t he t ar-
get thickness. Thi n and t hi ck t ar get s can be used for t hese measur ement s
(Sec. 12.1.1).
1 3 . 3 . 1 Thi c k - v e r s u s t hi n - t a r g e t me t h o d
9 ,
In subsequent sections, only t he t hi n- t ar get met hod for cross section de-
t er mi nat i on is discussed, in which t ar get s are chosen t hi n enough so t hat
t he yield of det ect ed phot ons, leptons, or charge-changed projectiles varies
13.3. CROSS SECTI ON MEASUREMENTS 357
essentially linearly wi t h t he t ar get t hi ckness [Eqs. (12.1) and (12.3)]. Nev-
ertheless, a few remarks about t he t hi ck-t arget met hod are in order.
In t hi s met hod, yields are det er mi ned as a funct i on of t ar get thickness up
t o equi l i bri um thicknesses [Eq. (11.29)]. The yield equat i ons, such as Eqs.
(11.1) or (11.6) if charge change is measured, or t he equivalent equat i ons for
t he emi t t ed radi at i ons [AnM86], are i nt egrat ed after an initial set of cross
sections is subst i t ut ed. Indi vi dual cross sections or groups of cross sections
are mul t i pl i ed by fitting factors which are varied until t he best fit wi t h t he
experi ment al dat a is obt ai ned. The vari at i on is gui ded by a least-squares
fitting procedure such as t hat descri bed by Cohen et al. [COC57] or t he
pr ogr am CURFI T of Bevi ngt on [Bev69]. It is necessary to st ar t wi t h t he
best available t heoret i cal cross sections; otherwise, t he fitting procedure
may end up in an incorrect mi ni mum in t he mul t i par amet er fitting space.
Appl i cat i on of t hi s met hod to charge-st at e yields from relativistic heavy
ions penet r at i ng various t ar get s between C and Au t ypi cal l y yields cross
sections consi st ent to wi t hi n factors 1.3 and 2. At nonrel at i vi st i c energies,
cross sections wi t h accuracies of 5 - 15% have been r epor t ed [BeH88]. In
t hi s work, charge fractions, charact eri st i c K- and L-x-ray yields, and ra-
diative electron capt ur e yields were fitted simultaneously. The difference
in accuracy bet ween t he relativistic and nonrel at i vi st i c cross section de-
t er mi nat i ons can be t raced si mpl y t o t he beam t i me availability at t he
correspondi ng accelerators. At t he former, t ypi cal l y 10 or fewer t ar get
thicknesses could be exami ned, at t he l at t er 20 t o 30 t ar get thicknesses
were used. Under these ci rcumst ances, t he t hi n- t ar get met hod is preferred.
Even t hough for a given incident projectile charge only a few cross sections
can be det ermi ned, accuracies of t he order of 10% can be reached wi t h five
t ar get thicknesses.
1 3 . 3 . 2 Me a s u r e me n t o f p h o t o n c r o s s s e c t i o n s
We describe here t he experi ment al t echni ques which have been used t o
obt ai n cross sections by phot on det ect i on, and, next, by projectile charge
change, wi t h sel f-support i ng and backed t arget s.
Fi gures 12.1, 12.2, and 13.2 sketch various ar r angement s sui t abl e t o
cross section measur ement by phot on (or lepton) detection. We assume
first t hat t he phot on spect r um is a cont i nuum and t hat a differential cross
section is t o be obt ai ned by normal i zat i on t hr ough beam charge i nt egrat i on
(Fig. 13.8a). Wi t h an energy-sensitive det ect or, one measures t he yield per
proj ect i l e per uni t phot on energy centered ar ound t he phot on energy Ex
and per uni t phot on solid angle centered ar ound t he phot on emission angle
358 CHAPTER 13. CROSS SECTION DETERMINATION
Coll.j SU P.l ~ T a r ~ e t
co oE T Ix " Y l -
I M C A I
( b )
I I
I I
DE
I M C A ! i M,
r
; AI
Fi gur e 13.8. Schematic detector arrangements for photon (or electron) de-
tection. (a) Normalization by beam current integration. (b) Normalization by
Rutherford scattering. A third normalization method by projectile counting is
sketched in Fig. 12.1. Abbreviations: Coll., beam collimator; Sup., electron sup-
pressor (-V=-200 to-1000 V); DET X-RAY, photon detector; A, photon atten-
uator; DET, particle detector; MCA, multichannel analyzer or computer. From
[Anh85b].
Ox (all quantities refer to the laboratory system)"
d2yx(Ex, Ox) ACx(Ex, Ox)
dE d~x AEx Np ~x(Ex) zXflx
(13.3)
Here, ACx(Ex, 0x) is the number of counts in the energy interval AEx
around Ex, corrected for background, deadtime effects, self-absorption in
the target, and external attenuation, Np is the total number of projec-
tiles, and ex(Ex) and A~tx are the efficiency and solid angle of the photon
detector. Equation (13.3) assumes azimuthal symmet ry about the beam
direction. The cross section in the laboratory system then is given by
d2ax(Ex, 0x) 1 d2yx(Ex, gx)
- - - - m
dE x dExdf~x '
(13.4)
where x is the target thickness in atoms per unit area [Eqs. (11.2) or (11.3)].
13.3. CROSS SECTION MEASUREMENTS 359
Thi s equat i on is valid only if t he t ar get thickness is small enough so t hat
t he yield varies linearly wi t h t he thickness.
If line spect r a such as charact eri st i c x-rays are measured, t he yield ex-
pressions are replaced by dYx(Ox)/dftx and t he rat i o ACx/AEx is replaced
by t he number of count s in a line, Cx(0x), correct ed for background, dead-
time, and absorpt i on. Correspondi ngl y, one obt ai ns t he differential cross
section per uni t solid angle dax(Ox)/df~x. To obt ai n t ot al cross sections,
one has t o t ake into account possible intrinsic ani sot ropi c emission of t he
radi at i on, as well as any ani sot ropy i nduced by t he Doppl er effect (Secs.
2.3.2, 2.4.2). To correct for t he l at t er, one has to know whet her the radia-
t i on is emi t t ed by t he t arget , t he projectile, or some ot her movi ng syst em,
such as t he center-of-charge system.
Normalization by Rutherford scattering
If it is possible t o set a part i cl e det ect or at sufficiently small forward angles
0p t o assure pure Rut her f or d scat t eri ng of t he projectiles (Fig. 13.8b), one
can normal i ze t he phot on or l ept on cross section t o t he Rut her f or d cross
section. Thi s avoids t he need to det ermi ne t he beam charge or t ar get
thickness, and even t akes care of possible t ar get thickness nonuniformity,
as long as t he thickest t ar get spot s still lie in t he t hi n- t ar get regime. For a
cont i nuum phot on spect r um, t he differential cross section is given by
d2~rx(Ex, 0x) dcrR(0p) ACx(Ex, 0x) /kf~p
dEx dftx = df~p /kEx Cp ( 0 p ) r A~-~ x " (13.5)
Here, doR(Op)/df~p is t he Rut her f or d cross section at t he l abor at or y an-
gle 0p, Cp(0p) is t he deadt i me-correct ed number of count s in t he elastic
scat t er i ng peak of t he particle spect r um, and Af t p is t he solid angle of t he
particle det ect or (unit det ect i on efficiency is assumed). For an accurat e
measur ement of t he Rut her f or d cross section, one needs to make measure-
ment s on bot h sides of t he beam and possibly correct for energy loss in t he
t arget . For t ot al cross section det ermi nat i ons, t he same remarks appl y as
for t he beam i nt egrat i on met hod.
Projectile counting
For relativistic heavy ions, cross sections are somet i mes large enough so t hat
t he beam i nt ensi t y can be reduced to a poi nt at which proj ect i l e count i ng
becomes practical. Referring to Fig. 12.1, if only t hose phot ons or leptons
are count ed which are in coincidence wi t h t he projectile det ect or signals, or
in Figs. 12.2 and 13.2, if onl y phot ons in coincidence wi t h charge-changed
projectiles are count ed, Eq. (13.4) applies. The rat i o ACx/AEx has to be
360 CHAPTER13. CROSS SECTION DETERMI NATI ON
i nt er pr et ed as t he background, deadt i me, and absor pt i on- cor r ect ed phot on
count s per uni t phot on energy interval, and Np as t he number of projec-
tiles count ed by t he part i cl e det ect ors. The quant i t y ( ACx/ AEx) / Np is
i ndependent of t he part i cl e det ect i on efficiency. The met hod has been ap-
plied successfully t o det er mi ne proj ect i l e and t ar get phot on emission cross
sections for 80 to 670- MeV/ u Ne t o U projectiles bombar di ng a range of
t ar get s bet ween Be and U [AnS86].
In phot on cross section det er mi nat i ons, par t i cul ar l y in solid t ar get s,
a careful eval uat i on of backgr ound effects is needed. Not onl y are t her e
possible ext er nal effects, ment i oned in Sec. 12.1.1, but secondar y el ect ron
pr oduct i on in t he t ar get foil can gener at e el ect ron-i nduced charact eri st i c
x-rays, as well as br emsst r ahl ung. The l at t er can be i nt ense enough t o
pr oduce addi t i onal t ar get inner-shell vacancies by t he phot oel ect ri c effect.
1 3 . 3 . 3 Me a s u r e me n t o f c h a r g e - c h a n g i n g c r o s s s e c t i o n s
In t he cross section det er mi nat i on by proj ect i l e charge change wi t h t hi n
t ar get s one i nt egrat es Eq. (11.6). Wi t h t hi n t arget s, exci t ed- st at e effects
are negligible and it is justified t o use t he gr ound- st at e model descri bed in
Sec. 11.2.2.
To i l l ust rat e t he met hod, assume t hat a beam cont ai ns initially fract i ons
f0, f l , and f2 of zero-, one-, and t wo-el ect ron ions. In t he not at i on of Eq.
(11.6),
f0 = II0(0), f l -- YI(0), f2 = II2(0). (13.6)
In a nor mal si t uat i on, one of t hese fractions is unity, and t he ot hers are
zero, but t o discuss backed t ar get s a more general t r eat ment is useful. In
order t o avoid t he cumber some not at i on a(n, n ~) for t he cross section for
changi ng from n to n ~ proj ect i l e el ect rons in a single collision (Sec. 11.2.1),
n n and tan for single-, double-, and triple- we i nt r oduce t he not at i on s~,d~,
el ect ron at t achment and s~ and d~ for single- and doubl e-el ect ron st ri ppi ng
from a n-el ect ron ion. We neglect processes of hi gher multiplicity. Then,
t he only cross sections occurri ng in t he present i l l ust rat i on are as follows:
0 (0, 1) 0 a(0, 2) 0 a(0, 3) (13.7)
S a - ~ c r , d a - - , t a = ,
and si mi l arl y for n = 1, 2, and
s~ - a ( 1 , 0 ) ,
s~ -- a( 2, 1) , d~ - a ( 2 , 0 ) . (13.8)
Upon i nt egr at i ng Eq. (11.6) to first order in x, one finds [MeA85]
YO - - f o -3 t- [ - ( Tt o t ( 0 ) fo + 81 f l -~- d21 f2] x + O( 1 2 ) ,
13.3. CROSS SECTI ON MEASUREMENTS 361
Y1 - f l -t- [8 ~ f o - ( ~t ot ( 1) f l + 8 2 f 2] x -~- O( x 2 ) ,
1
Y2 -- f2 + [d~ fo + Sa f l --(Ttot(2) f 2] x + O(X2) ,
2
Y3 - (t o fo + d~ f l + s~ f 2) x + O(x2) ,
Y4 - (t I f l + d~ f 2) x + O( x 2 ) ,
Y5 - t 2 f2 x +O( x 2 ) .
(13.9)
Here, x is t he t ar get t hi ckness in at oms per uni t area, Eqs. (11.2) or (11.3).
In t he first t hr ee expressi ons, we have used t he t ot al char ge- changi ng cross
sect i ons, Eq. (11.7),
o 0 0
( 7 t o t ( 0 ) - - 8 a + d~ + t~,
1 1 1
( ~tot( 1) - - 8 a- ~ - d a- ~ - t a- t - 8 1 ,
g+d . a t o t ( 2 ) - - 8 a +d a - ~- t a + (13.10)
Sel f - support i ng targets
Wi t h sel f - suppor t i ng t ar get s and an ent er i ng be a m in a single char ge st at e,
one can ext r act cross sect i ons from Eq. (13.9) by pl ot t i ng t he exper i ment al
val ues of Yn / x agai nst x, and ext r apol at i ng t o x = 0. For exampl e, if
f l - 1 and f0 - f2 - 0, t he i nt er cept (Yo/ x)x=o yi el ds s} and t he i nt er cept
1 Fi gur e 13.9 i l l ust r at es t hi s case for 200- MeV/ u XeS3++ (Y2/X)x=O yi el ds s a.
Be collisions.
Unf or t unat el y, sel f - suppor t i ng t ar get s oft en are t hi ck enough so t ha t
t er ms even cubi c in x cont r i but e not i ceabl y t o t he yield. In t ha t case, one
has t o use t he same i nt egr at i on me t hod as for t hi ck t ar get s (See. 13.3.1).
If t he numbe r of avai l abl e t ar get t hi cknesses is l i mi t ed, one is forced t o
make as s umpt i ons about cross sect i ons a( n, n t) r emoved from t he val ues
n - no, n t - n~ of i nt er est . Wr i t i ng n~ - no + m, one can r educe t he
numbe r of unknown cross sect i ons by as s umpt i ons such as [Bet72]
or(no, no + m) = g(no) h( m) , (13.11)
wher e g and h are f unct i ons of no and m alone, respect i vel y. Such r el at i ons
may be valid for l i mi t ed regi ons of m.
Back ed targets
If sel f - suppor t i ng t ar get s are t oo t hi ck for a par t i cul ar meas ur ement , one
can use backed t ar get s. Ca r bon and a l umi num foils f or m sui t abl e backi ngs
(Sec. 12.2). It is advant ageous t o let t he backi ng face t he be a m because
t hen one can meas ur e s epar at el y t he char ge f r act i ons emer gi ng from a pur e
362 CHAPTER 13. CROSS SECTI ON DETERMI NATI ON
Y/T
~ 2
O~
E
CL
. , =,
u
t
0
Q.
v
attachment
. . . . | . . . . i
0 5 I 0
T ( mgl cm 2 )
Fi gur e 13. 9. Dependence of the yield to target thickness ratio Yn/ t T for 200-
MeV/ u Xe 53+ (one electron) + Be collisions for n - 0 (one-electron loss) and
n - 2 (one-electron attachment). Cross sections are obtained from the intercepts
at t w - 0 . Fr om [MeA85].
backi ng foil. These fract i ons can be used as i ni t i al values for t he charge
fract i ons ent er i ng t he t ar get mat er i al .
In t he i l l ust r at i on of Eq. (13.9), assume t ha t f0, f l , andf 2 are t he charge
fract i ons emer gi ng from a pur e backi ng foil. One sees t ha t even wi t h t hese
fract i ons known, 12 unknown cross sect i ons occur in t he yield equat i ons, but
onl y 6 i nt er cept s (Yn/ x)x=o, (n = 0 t o 5) can be det er mi ned exper i ment al l y.
Hence, one is forced once mor e t o make as s umpt i ons si mi l ar t o Eq. (13.11)
for t he cross sect i ons of l i t t l e i nt erest , or one has t o use t heor et i cal est i mat es
for t hese cross sections.
13. 3. 4 Cros s s e c t i o ns f or s pec i f i c pr o c e s s e s
In t he following sections, t he precedi ng general t echni ques of phot on, lep-
t on, and char ge- changi ng cross sect i on meas ur ement s are appl i ed t o specific
processes, such as i oni zat i on, exci t at i on, capt ur e, and el ect r on- posi t r on pai r
emission.
Ioni zat i on cross sections
Inner-shel l i oni zat i on cross sect i ons at rel at i vi st i c bombar di ng energies can
be det er mi ned from t ar get x- r ay yields and from proj ect i l e charge change
13.3. CROSS SECTI ON MEASUREMENTS 363
measurement s. Fr om a t heoret i cal poi nt of view, each met hod has advan-
t ages and di sadvant ages.
If t ar get x-ray yields are measured, t he ionizing agent can be a bare
projectile, for which t he basic t heor y of ionization is formul at ed (Chaps.
6 and 7). The met hod has di sadvant ages t hough. Fi rst , since t he t ar get
t ypi cal l y is a mul t i -el ect ron at om, screening effects on electron energies
and wave funct i ons must be considered, which can be t r eat ed only approxi-
mat el y (Sec. 5.6). Second, capt ur e from inner t ar get shells t o t he projectile
can occur. Thi s generat es inner-shell t ar get vacancies and subsequent x-
rays which cannot be di st i ngui shed from t he x-rays produced by ionization
unless t he x-ray measur ement is made in coincidence wi t h a par t i cul ar pro-
jectile charge st at e.
The advant ages of using charge change for (projectile) i oni zat i on mea-
sur ement s are t hat one can choose t he number of electrons on t he ion t o
be ionized and can even i nvest i gat e hydrogeni c ions which are ideal for the-
oretical studies. Fur t her mor e, t here is no di st urbi ng influence of capt ure
since all t he t ar get st at es are filled. The di sadvant age of t he met hod is
t hat t he ionizing agent is a neut ral at om whose electrons also cont ri but e
t o ionization. The resul t i ng t heoret i cal cross section is somewhat complex
and is not fully derivable from first principles (Sec. 7.4).
Theoret i cal l y, it is of interest to investigate i oni zat i on cross sections
for separat e at omi c shells. Thi s can be done di rect l y by measuri ng t he
correspondi ng t ar get x-rays (K, L, or M) or i ndi rect l y by subt r act i ng from
a given proj ect i l e electron loss cross section t he cont r i but i on from t he ot her
shells. Using as an exampl e one-electron st ri ppi ng [Eq. (11.4)], one can
identify t he cross section a(1, 0) as t he loss cross section alK per electron in
t he K-shell of t he projectile. The cross section difference
a(3, 2) - a(2, 1) - 0"11 (13.12)
can be identified wi t h t he one-electron loss cross section in t he proj ect i l e
Ll - s ubs he l l . Similar rel at i ons can be est abl i shed for higher shells and for
mul t i pl e ionization, but must be used wi t h care because screening effects on
t he subt r act ed electron shells may differ wi t h t he number of out er electrons.
Capture cross sections
Rel at i vi st i c electron capt ur e cross sections are most easily obt ai ned from
charge change measur ement s wi t h bare or few-electron projectiles [MeA85].
Wi t h such measurement s, t hough, nonradi at i ve and radi at i ve capt ur e can-
not be separat ed. The analysis of t he dat a must rely on t heoret i cal calcu-
lations, such as [Anh85a], see Figs. 8.9 and 8.10.
364 CHAPTER13. CROSS SECTION DETERMI NATI ON
An i mpor t ant feature of t he capt ur e process is charge t ransfer t o excited
proj ect i l e states. In fact, it would be of t heoret i cal interest t o det ermi ne
cross sections for t ransi t i ons bet ween given initial and final states. In prin-
ciple, t hi s could be done by measuri ng t ar get x-rays from t he vacancy gen-
erat ed in t he initial shell in coincidence wi t h t he x-ray produced by capt ur e
into an excited projectile st at e, and to assure by a furt her coincidence t hat
t hese x-rays are correl at ed wi t h a projectile charge change. Such experi-
ment s have been performed wi t h relativistic projectiles [StM93]. A cruder
selection of final shells, but not initial shells, is possible if one uses t he
difference bet ween electron at t achment cross sections [Eq. (11.5)] obt ai ned
wi t h different number of electrons on t he projectile. For example, t he cross
section for capt ure into an empt y K-shell is given by t he difference
or(0, 1) - a(2, 3) = cr y, (13.13)
where t he not at i on of Eq. (11.5) has been used. An appl i cat i on of t hi s
equat i on is shown in Fig. 8.12. As for ionization, this t ype of rel at i onshi p
can be ext ended t o higher projectile shells and to multiple electron capt ure,
but agai n care must be t aken to consider screening effects properly.
Radi at i ve electron capt ur e cross sections can be obt ai ned di rect l y from
phot on measur ement s by i nt egrat i ng t he area under t he REC peak. Equa-
t i on (9.9) gives t he centroid energy of t he peak. The exact det er mi nat i on of
t he peak area is difficult because of t he presence of pr i mar y bremsst rahl ung.
Thi s radi at i on, which is t he radi at i ve electron capt ure t o projectile contin-
uum st at es, has a cont i nuous spect r um wi t h an endpoi nt given by Eq.
(9.9) wi t h ~f = 0. Spreadi ng of t he REC peak due to t he initial electron
moment um di st ri but i on (Sec. 9.1) causes some overlap wi t h t he pr i mar y
br emsst r ahl ung spect rum. Wi t h solid t arget s, t here is an addi t i onal back-
gr ound of secondary bremsst rahl ung. Thi s is clearly brought out in Figs.
13.10 a and b which show t he phot on spect ra from 82- MeV/ u Xe+Be and
422- MeV/ u U+U collisions. The short -dashed and dash- dot t ed curves are
t he cal cul at ed secondary and pr i mar y br emsst r ahl ung spect ra, respectively,
and t he l ong-dashed curves are t he K- and L- REC peaks. Pr i mar y and
secondary br emsst r ahl ung produce cont i nuum spect ra under t he K- and
L- REC peaks, and Doppl er-shi ft ed projectile K x-rays can be seen (Sec.
2.4.1). For low-Z t arget s, t he secondary br emsst r ahl ung is so small t hat
t he spect r um shoul d not differ from one t aken wi t h a gas t arget . For hi gh- Z
t arget s, secondary br emsst r ahl ung domi nat es t he spect rum.
Wi t h a gas t arget , very clean spect r a can be obt ai ned because t he sec-
ondar y processes are largely suppressed. Fi gure 13.11 shows a phot on spec-
t r um from 295- MeV/ u U 92+ + Ar at a l abor at or y angle of 132 ~ obt ai ned
in coincidence wi t h U 91+ ions. The REC peaks and t he Lyman (K) x-ray
peaks from capt ure into excited st at es of U 91+ are nearl y background free.
13.3. CROSS SECTI ON MEASUREMENTS 365
1 0 3 I I I I
( a ) 8 2 MeV/o mu
X e + Be
X e Kcz 9 0 ~
1 02 [ ~ K-REC
_
>
i o ~
5
lo o
i d t
2 5 5 0 7 5 I 0 (
Ex ( k e V)
I0 5 j i i I I
I
( b ) 4 2 2 Me V/o mu
U + U
I i r ~ K a TGT 8 5 ~
10 3
10 2
I 0 ' I I / ~ I ~ I I I
I 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0
Ex ( k e Y)
Fi g u r e 13. 10. Ph o t o n s pe c t r a from a solid t ar get . (a) Spe c t r um from 82-
Me V/ u U+Be collisions, at 90 ~ t o t he beam. The phot ons ar e det ect ed in an
i nt r i nsi c Ge det ect or covered by a 3- g/ c m 2 Be abs or ber t o bl ock out s econdar y
el ect r ons. The sol i d cur ve is t he s um of all t he c omput e d curves, but fails t o
compl et el y r epr oduce t he e xpe r i me nt a l s pect r um. (b) Same for 422- Me V/ u U+U
col l i si ons at 85 ~ t o t he beam. Fr om [AnS86].
(/3
i . - -
Z
E:)
0
(. 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100 0=1 3 2 ~
L ye2
80
60 LYCI1 L , -REC
20 ~ m,'~,~, I, ,
20 4 . 0 60 80 100 120 14.0 160
X - R a y L a b . - E n e r g y ( ke Y )
Fi g u r e 13. 11. Ph o t o n s pe c t r um from a gas t arget " 295- Me V/ u U92++Ar colli-
sions, at 132 ~ t o t he beam. The phot ons are de t e c t e d in an i nt ri nsi c Ge det ect or .
The REC peaks and t he Lyma n x- r ay peaks from c a pt ur e i nt o exci t ed s t at es of
U 91+ can be seen. Fr om [StM93].
366 CHAPTER13. CROSS SECTI ON DETERMI NATI ON
Exci t at i on cross sect i ons
In principle, it is possible to st udy exci t at i on cross sections by measur i ng
t he x-rays emi t t ed by a proj ect i l e which has not undergone a charge change.
For exampl e, one could measur e t he K x-rays emi t t ed in coincidence wi t h a
one-el ect ron proj ect i l e which has kept its charge st at e upon emergi ng from
t he t ar get . In t he analysis, one would have to be aware t hat t he emi t t ed
x-rays can be due not only t o l s ~2 p exci t at i on, but also due t o ls---,2s
exci t at i on followed by a collisional 2s---~2p t ransi t i on, for which t he cross
section can be very large [Anh85a]. The proj ect i l e x-ray lines in Figs. 13.10
and 13.11 are par t l y due t o exci t at i on.
Elect ron, positron, and pai r cross sect i ons
The s t udy of el ect ron cont i nuum spect r a is of great i nt erest because it would
t est di rect l y a differential cross section expressi on like (6.4). Such measure-
ment s are best under t aken wi t h gas t ar get s in order to avoid secondary
el ect ron emission from t he t arget . For highly st r i pped ions, t he Auger el-
fect, whi ch forms a backgr ound in nonrel at i vi st i c collisions, will be small.
In principle, one could use any efficient el ect ron spect r omet er ment i oned
in Sec. 13.2.4. For proj ect i l e ionization, t he differential cross section mea-
sur ement s in t he l abor at or y syst em will have t o be pr oper l y t r ansf or med
into t he proj ect i l e frame (Sec. 2.3).
The measur ement of posi t rons and of el ect ron-posi t ron pairs emi t t ed
from rel at i vi st i c collisions is and will be one of t he most i nt erest i ng re-
search areas in t he field (Chap. 10). Measur ement s of pai r pr oduct i on cross
sections from highly rel at i vi st i c proj ect i l es have been under t aken [VaD92].
The det ect i on of posi t rons in coincidence wi t h projectiles which have gai ned
an el ect ron i ndi cat es t he occurrence of bound-free pai r pr oduct i on (Sec.
10.3). Thi s process has been det ect ed and cross sections have been de-
t er mi ned [BEG93]. As proj ect i l e energies appr oachi ng t he Te V/ u range
become available, mul t i pl e-pai r pr oduct i on will be copious [ViG93], and
det ect i on t echni ques of el ement ar y part i cl e physics will have to be adapt ed
t o at omi c-physi cs experi ment s.