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A. Niggas, S. Creutzburg, J. Schwestka, B. Wöckinger, T. Gupta, P. Grande, D. Eder, J. Marques, B. C. Bayer, F. Aumayr, R. Bennett, R. Wilhelm:
"Peeling graphite layer by layer reveals the charge exchange dynamics of ions inside a solid";
Communications Physics, 4 (2021), 1801 - 1809.

Over seventy years ago, Niels Bohr described how the charge state of an atomic ion moving through a solid changes dynamically as a result of electron capture and loss processes, eventually resulting in an equilibrium charge state. Although obvious, this process has so far eluded direct experimental observation. By peeling a solid, such as graphite, layer by layer, and studying the transmission of highly charged ions through single-, bi- and trilayer graphene, we can now observe dynamical changes in ion charge states with monolayer precision. In addition we present a first-principles approach based on the virtual photon model for interparticle energy transfer to corroborate our findings. Our model that uses a Gaussian shaped dynamic polarisability rather than a spatial delta function is a major step in providing a self-consistent description for interparticle de-excitation processes at the limit of small separations.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42005-021-00686-1

https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/publik_296842.pdf