Swift cluster-atom collisions: a progress report

Significant progresses in the field of swift cluster-atom collisions have b een made, thanks to the development of new beam facilities. We report on ex periments performed nearby the Tandem accelerator at Orsay (France) with be ams of small carbon clusters C-n(+)(n less than or equal to 5) of 2 MeV/C c olliding with a single helium atom. New results concerning the ionization c ross sections of the clusters are reported and compared to the predictions of the independent atom and electron model. New results concerning the frag mentation patterns of C-5(+) (branching ratios and dissociative energies) a re presented. A strong observed multifragmentation is observed, and discuss ed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.