Electron impact ionization of highly charged lithiumlike ions*

Electron impact ionization cross sections can provide valuable information about the charge-state and power balance of highly charged ions in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. In the present work, a novel technique based on x-ray measurements has been used to infer the ionization cross section of highly charged lithiumlike ions on the Livermore electron beam ion trap. In particular, a correspondence is established between an observed x-ray and an ionization event. The measurements are made at one energy corresponding to approximately 2.3 times the threshold energy for ionization of lithiumlike ions. The technique is applied to the transition metals between Z = 22 (titanium, Ti...