Single-photon absorption of isolated collagen mimetic peptides and triple-helix models in the VUV-X energy range

Cartilage and tendons owe their special mechanical properties to the fibrous collagen structure. These strong fibrils are aggregates of a sub-unit consisting of three collagen proteins wound around each other in a triple helix. Even though collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, the response of this protein complex to ionizing radiation has never been studied. In this work, we probe the direct effects of VUV and soft X-ray photons on isolated models of the collagen triple helix, by coupling a tandem mass spectrometer to a synchrotron beamline. Single-photon absorption is found to induce electronic excitation, ionization and conversion into internal energy leading to inter- and intra-molecular fragmentation, mainly due to Gly-Pro peptide bond cleavages. Our results indicate that increasing the photon energy from 14 to 22 eV reduces fragmentation. We explain this surprising behavior by a smooth transition from excitation to ionization occurring with increasing photon energy. Moreover, our data support the assumption of a stabilization of the triple helix models by proline hydroxylation via intra-complex stereoelectronic effects, instead of the influence of solvent

Electron Capture in Collisions of Slow Highly Charged Ions with an Atom and a Molecule: Processes and Fragmentation Dynamics

International audienceProcesses involved in slow collisions between highly charged ions (HCI) and neutral targets are presented. First, the mechanisms responsible for double electron capture are discussed. We show that, while the electron-nucleus interaction is expected to be dominant at projectile velocities of about 0.5 a.u., the electron-electron interaction plays a decisive role during the collision and gains importance when the projectile velocity decreases. This interaction has also to be invoked in the capture of core electrons by HCI. Finally, the molecular fragmentation of H2 following the impact of HCI is studied

Primary processes: from atoms to diatomic molecules and clusters

International audienceThis article presents a short review of the main progresses achieved at the GANIL facilities during the last thirty years in the field of ion-atom and ion-diatomic molecule collisions. Thanks to the wide range of projectile energies and species available on the different beam lines of the facility, elementary processes such as electron capture, ionization and excitation have been extensively studied. Beside primary collision mechanisms, the relaxation processes of the collision partners after the collision have been another specific source of interest. Progresses on other fundamental processes such as Young type interferences induced by ion-molecule collisions or shake off ionization resulting from nuclear beta decay are also presented. 1. Introduction For the electronic structures of atoms and molecules, precise theoretical knowledge and high-resolution experimental data are available. But the complete understanding of dynamic processes in atomic collisions remains a challenge, due to large theoretical problems in describing time-dependent many-particle reactions, and to experimental difficulties in performing complete experiments in which all relevant quantities are accessible. Elementary collisions involving ions, atoms and molecules play an important role in many gaseous and plasma environments, where they provide both the heating and cooling mechanisms. The study of such collisions is thus not only of fundamental importance, it is also essential for the understanding of large-scale systems such as astrophysical plasmas, planetary atmospheres, gas discharge lasers, semiconductor processing plasmas, and fusion plasmas. Collisions between ions and atoms (or simple molecules) give also access to the elementary processes responsible for energy transfer in ion-matter and ion-biological molecule collisions. Complete knowledge of these elementary processes is thus of primordial importance for ion induced modification of materials as well as for radiolysis, radiotherapy and biological damages due to radiation exposure

Ionisation et excitation de l'atome de lithium par impact de particules chargées rapides : Identification des mécanismes de création de deux lacunes en couche K du lithium en fonction de la charge et de la vitesse du projectile.

Ionization and excitation of lithium atoms by fast charged particle impact: Identification of mechanisms for double K-shell vacancy production as a function of projectile charge and velocity. Auger electron spectroscopy is used for an experimental investigation of ionization and excitation of lithium atoms by ions (Kr34+ and Ar18+) and electrons at high impact velocities (from 6 to 60 a.u.). In particular, relative contributions of the mechanisms responsible for lithium K-shell ionization–excitation are determined for various projectile charges Zp and velocities vp. A large range of perturbation parameters |Zp|/vp is explored (|Zp|/vp = 0,05 - 0,7 a.u.). From single K-shell excitation results, it appears that the projectile-electron interaction gives mainly rise to a dipole-like transition 1s -> np Concerning K-shell ionization-excitation, the separation of the TS2 (two independent projectile-electron interactions) and TS1 (one projectile-electron interaction) mechanisms responsible for the formation of the 2snp 1,3P and 2sns 1,3S lithium states is performed. In TS1 process, the projectile-electron interaction can be followed by an electron-electron interaction (dielectronic process) or by an internal rearrangement of the residual target after a sudden potential change (shake process). From Born theory, ab initio calculations are performed. The good agreement between theoretical and experimental results confirms the mechanism identification. For the production of P states, TS1 is found to be strongly dominant for small |Zp|/vp values and TS2 is found to be most important for large |Zp|/vp values. Since P states cannot be formed significantly via a shake process, the TS1 and TS2 separation provides a direct signature of the dielectronic process. On the other hand, the TS1 process is shown to be the unique process for producing the S states. At the moment, only the shake aspect of the TS1 process can explain the fact that the 2s3s configuration is preferentially formed compared to 2s2.La spectroscopie d'électrons Auger est utilisée pour l'étude expérimentale des processus d'ionisation et d'excitation électronique de l'atome de lithium par impact d'ions (Kr34+ et Ar18+) et d'électrons à haute vitesse (de 6 à 60 u.a.). L'objectif est de déterminer la contribution relative des mécanismes responsables de l'ionisation-excitation en couche K du lithium pour des projectiles de charges Zp et de vitesses vp différentes. Un large domaine de paramètres de perturbation |Zp|/vp est exploré (|Zp|/vp = 0,05 - 0,7 u.a.). Les résultats sur la simple excitation en couche K montrent que l'interaction projectile-électron donne essentiellement lieu à une transition dipolaire 1s -> np Dans le cas de l'ionisation-excitation en couche K, l'accent est mis sur la séparation des mécanismes TS2 (deux interactions projectile-électron indépendantes) et TS1 (une interaction projectile-électron) responsables de la formation des états 2snp 1,3P et 2sns 1,3S du lithium. Lors du processus TS1, l'interaction projectile-électron peut être suivie d'une interaction électron-électron (processus diélectronique) ou d'un réarrangement du cortège électronique après changement brutal du potentiel au sein de la cible (processus shake). Des calculs ab initio sont effectués dans le cadre de la théorie de Born. Le bon accord observé entre le calcul et l'expérience valide l'identification des mécanismes. Dans le cas des états P, le processus TS1 est dominant pour de faibles valeurs de |Zp|/vp, alors que le processus TS2 est prépondérant aux grandes valeurs de |Zp|/vp. Le processus shake ne pouvant peupler les états P de façon significative, la séparation de TS1 et TS2 conduit directement à la mise en évidence de la nature diélectronique du processus TS1. Les états S sont, quant à eux, quasi exclusivement peuplés par le processus TS1. À ce jour, seul le caractère shake de TS1 permet de comprendre que la configuration 2s3s soit préférentiellement peuplée par rapport à 2s2

Plateforme d’accueil des expériences interdisciplinaires auprès des faisceaux du GANIL

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Ionisation et excitation de l'atome de lithium par impact de particules chargées rapides (identification des mécanismes de création de deux lacunes en couche K du lithium en fonction de la charge et de la vitesse du projectile)

CAEN-BU Sciences et STAPS (141182103) / SudocSudocFranceF