The characteristic K X-ray production from projectile and solid target atom
s in heavy ion collisions have been measured using a high-resolution Ge-det
ector. Ni projectiles in the energy range 15-25 MeV have been used to irrad
iate various thick targets made of materials in the Z range 22-32. In this
energy region, the transition from predominantly quasi-molecular excitation
to predominantly Coulomb excitation occurs. These measurements have been d
one in connection with our programme with a fairly new analytical technique
, a combination of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and the detection of
characteristic X-rays. From the measurements, experimental K X-ray cross-s
ections have been extracted. Comparisons with other experimental data as we
ll as with theoretical values are presented. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.
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