Indications of nuclear-track-guided electrons induced by fast heavy ions in insulators

Abstract

We present experimental evidence for a deceleration of convoy electrons produced by 5 MeV/u ions (N⁷⁺, Ne¹⁰⁺, S¹³⁺, Ni²³⁺, and Ag³⁷⁺) during the interaction with insulator foils at normal incidence. The deceleration first increases with increasing projectile charge, reaches a maximum at a projectile charge of about 16, and seems to approach zero for even higher charges. Different possible mechanisms and quantitative estimates for the slowing down of convoy electrons are presented.