Electron loss from 1.4-MeV/u U{sup 4,6,10+} ions colliding with Ne, N{sub 2}, and Ar targets

Absolute, total, single- and multiple-electron-loss cross sections are measured for 1.4-MeV/u U{sup 4,6,10+} ions colliding with neon and argon atoms and nitrogen molecules. It is found that the cross sections all have the same dependence on the number of electrons lost and that multiplying the cross sections by the initial number of electrons in the 6s, 6p, and 5f shells yields good agreement between the different projectiles. By combining the present data with previous measurements made at the same velocity, it is shown that the scaled cross sections slowly decrease in magnitude for incoming charge states between 1 and 10, whereas the cross sections for higher-charge-state ions fall off much more rapidly.