Ab initio research of stopping power for energetic ions in solids

A new physical scenario is suggested to estimate the stopping power of energetic α particles in solid-density Be, Na, and Al at room temperature in an ab initio way based on the average atom model. In the scenario the stopping power is caused by the transition of free electrons to higher energy states and the ionization of bound electrons of the atom. Our results are found generally in good agreement with the recommended data in Al, Be and Na as well as the experimental data in Al. A comparison of energy loss with the recent experiment of protons in Be indicates that the scenario is more reasonable than the local density approximation in this case.