Electronic stopping in ion-fullerene collisions

The electronic friction experienced by a multiply charged ion interacting w ith the valence electrons of a single fullerene is an important aspect of t he collision dynamics. It manifests itself in a considerable loss of projec tile kinetic energy transferred to the target, resulting in excitation. The latter mainly leads to direct ionization and multifragmentation and can be recognized in specific patterns of the fragmentation spectra. These finger prints can be used to quantify electronic stopping and to identify its typi cal properties as known from particle-solid interactions, such as the oscil lation of the electronic stopping with the projectile atomic number Z. Thes e essentially many-body effects can therefore be studied in a well-defined system of finite size.