Multiple electron emission from noble gases colliding with proton beams, including postcollisional effects

The process of multiple electron ionization of Ne and Ar noble gases produced by impact of proton beams is studied in the framework of the independent-electron model. The role played by different mechanisms is analyzed, including intershell Auger and intrashell Coster-Kronig electron emission, which follow the production of vacancies due to direct interaction of the projectile with the target electrons. The present results, obtained with the continuum distorted wave--eikonal initial state (CDW-EIS) approximation, confirm previous predictions given by a different theoretical model. Semiempirical approximations are introduced by using analytical single-ionization probabilities with adjustable parameters determined from CDW-EIS total cross sections. The small computational time required to calculate multiple ionization cross sections with these semiempirical approximations and the good agreement found with existing experimental data and with results obtained with more elaborated theoretical models make them good candidates to study electron emission from complex targets.