K-shell excitation in interatomic collisions for carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. I. Homonuclear collisions

The K-shell excitation cross sections for C-C, N-N and O-O collisions measured at intermediate impact energies using Auger electron spectroscopy are compared with the MO model calculation. The observed excitation behaviors are consistent with theoretical prediction, but the cross section magnitudes show 20 to 40% discrepancies. The projectile-charge-state dependence of the cross section is observed as the cross section is approximately proportional to the number of total 2p vacancies initially existing in the colliding partners.