The stopping of heavy ions in the low-to-intermediate energy range: The apparent velocity threshold

Abstract We present a non-linear study of the energy loss of heavy ions in solids, which is based on the transport cross section (TCS) and the extension of the Friedel sum rule (EFSR) for moving ions. We apply this approach to study the velocity dependence of the energy loss of heavy ions in the energy region below the stopping power maximum. With this formulation we are able to explain some striking effects in the energy loss of heavy ions which have been experimentally observed long time ago (Brown and Moak (1972) [14]), but have not been explained so far by the existing theoretical models: the deviations from the proportionality with ion velocity (predicted by alternative models in the low energy range), and the “apparent velocity threshold”.