Journal reference: Nuclear Instruments and Methods B 01/2012; 286:51–55. DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2012.01.011 Effect of interaction of atomic electrons on ionization of an insulator in swift heavy ion tracks. A.A. Baranov 1 , N.A. Medvedev 2 , A.E. Volkov 3* , N.S. Scheblanov 4 1 LAPTH, Universite de Savoie, 9, Chemin de Bellevue, BP 110, 74941 Annecy-le-Vieux, France 2 CFEL at DESY, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany 3* National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, Kurchatov Sq. 1, 123182 Moscow, Russia 4 Laboratoire Hubert Curien, UMR CNRS 5516, Université de Lyon, 18 rue Benoît Lauras, Bat. F, 42000 Saint-Etienne, France Keywords: multiionization, swift heavy ion, track, electronic excitations, Monte- Carlo, Binary Collision Approximation, Statistical Energy Deposition. *) a.e.volkov@list.ru, tel. +7 499 196 91 78, fax. +7 499 196 16 12 Abstract Effects of applications of two different models of atomic ionizations in MC simulations describing excitation of the electronic subsystem of an insulator in tracks of swift heavy ions decelerated in the electronic stopping regime are investigated. The first mechanism is based on binary collisions of a fast projectile with atomic electrons considered as independent. The second one assumes redistribution of the energy transferred to an atom from an ion between the atomic electrons before autoionization of the excited atom. It is demonstrated that an appreciable difference occurs only in the kinetics of the most energetic electrons appeared during the ionization. This difference affects only a small fraction of the excess electronic energy in the far periphery of a track.