Proton-induced alignment of theL3-subshell in heavy atoms

The proton-induced alignment of theL-shell in heavy atoms (54≦Z≦92) has been studied by measuring the anisotropy of the emitted x radiation. The proton energies ranged from 150 keV to 10 MeV. The alignment in different target atoms was found to approximately follow a universal curve. Calculations in Born approximation as well as in the semiclassical approach give a good description of the observed alignment at high projectile velocities. In the low energy regime the deflection of the projectile in the Coulomb field of the target nucleus has to be taken into account to obtain agreement between theory and experiment.