High-Resolution Measurements of Th and U L?-X-rays Induced by Energetic O Ions

The first experimental results of a high-resolution study of Th and U Lγ-X-rays induced in collisions with 230 MeV and 360 MeV oxygen ions, undertaken to investigate the dynamics of the multiple ionization in M-, N- and O-shells and the structure of M- and N-shell X-ray satellites, are reported. The measurements were performed using the transmission curved- crystal spectrometer installed in DuMond geometry. An instrumental resolution of about 10 eV was achieved for Lγ (L-N,O) X-ray transitions, allowing clear separation of M-shell X-ray satellites for Th and U. Moreover, the N-shell satellite structure in the Lγ6 (L2-O4) X-ray transition was observed for 360-MeV O ion impact on a thorium target. This, to our knowledge, is the first observation of this kind. Other observed Lγ X-ray diagram lines are shifted and widened, with respect to the photoinduced X-ray spectra excited by an X-ray tube, due to the unresolved N-shell and, probable the O-shell, satellite structure.