Single and Double Ionization of Helium by Fast Antiproton and Proton Impact

Abstract

The first ion-atom-collision data obtained with antiprotons are presented. We measured the single- and double-ionization cross section for 0.5-5-MeV antiprotons and protons colliding with helium. For ion energies above ∼ 2 MeV, the single-ionization cross section is the same for protons and antiprotons. However, surprisingly, the double-ionization cross section for antiprotons is approximately a factor of 2 larger than that for protons. The present data constitute a challenge for future theoretical models of charged-particle-atom collisions.