LARGE HYDROGEN CLUSTER STOPPING IN CARBON

We have investigated theoretically the stopping of clusters impinging on a target at high velocities. All energy losses are assumed to be due to electronic interaction which is described within the linear dielectric formalism. We focus on hydrogen clusters consisting of ten or more H-2 molecules, moving in a carbon target. Two different models are employed to specify the target properties, namely the Drude and the Mermin dielectric functions. Interference effects, quantified as usual by the vicinage function, are identified as intra- and inter molecular contributions. The influence of different approximations for the atomic pair correlation function is also studied. Results are given for the stopping power per atom as a function of cluster size and velocity.