Young-type interference in projectile-electron loss in energetic ion-molecule collisions

We propose an alternative and very promising scenario for studying the Young-type-interference phenomena in energetic ion-molecule collisions. In such a scenario, we focus on the energy spectra of electrons that are ionized from the bound states of fast moving projectiles. We argue that under certain conditions these (projectile) electrons interact mainly with the nuclei and inner-shell electrons of atoms forming the molecule. Due to their compact localization in space and distinct separation from each other, these molecular centers play a role similar to that of optical slits in light scattering leading to pronounced interference patterns in electron energy distributions.