CHARGE-STATE DEPENDENCE OF THE STOPPING POWER FOR CHLORINE IONS INTERACTING WITH A COLD GAS AND A PLASMA (1.5 MEV U)/

Accurate measurements of the energy loss of chlorine ions at 1.5 MeV/a .m.u. passing through a fully ionized plasma target, were achieved usi ng a split-pole magnet at the Tandem accelerator facility at the ''Ins titut de Physique Nucleaire''. The plasma is created by a linear wall stabilized discharge in deuterium gas. The split-pole magnet is a refo cusing magnet which has an energy resolution of 3 x 10(-4) for a large angular acceptance (+/- 4 mrad). Experimental uncertainties arising f rom the plasma lens effect can be avoided by using this experimental d evice. We have measured energy loss for Clq+, where q + denotes the ex citing charge state after interaction (q = 11-15), in a cold gas and a plasma target. A clear experimental dependence of energy loss with ch arge state is observed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.