Ionization (or ionisation) is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a

negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction

with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged atom or molecule is
called an ion. Ionization can result from the loss of an electron after collisions
with subatomic particles, collisions with other atoms, molecules and ions, or
through the interaction with electromagnetic radiation. Heterolytic bond cleavage
and heterolytic substitution reactions can result in the formation of ion pairs.
Ionization can occur through radioactive decay by the internal conversion process,
in which an excited nucleus transfers its energy to one of the inner-shell
electrons causing it to be ejected.

Uses
Everyday examples of gas ionization are such as within a fluorescent lamp or other
electrical discharge lamps. It is also used in radiation detectors such as the
Geiger-Müller counter or the ionization chamber. The ionization process is widely
used in a variety of equipment in fundamental science (e.g., mass spectrometry) and
in industry (e.g., radiation therapy).

Production of ions

Avalanche effect in an electric field created between two electrodes. The original
ionization event liberates one electron, and each subsequent collision liberates a
further electron, so two electrons emerge from each collision: the ionizing
electron and the liberated electron.
Negatively charged ions are produced when a free electron collides with an atom and
is subsequently trapped inside the electric potential barrier, releasing any excess
energy. The process is known as electron capture ionization.

Positively charged ions are produced by transferring an amount of energy to a bound

electron in a collision with charged particles (e.g. ions, electrons or positrons)
or with photons. The threshold amount of the required energy is known as ionization
potential. The study of such collisions is of fundamental importance with regard to
the few-body problem, which is one of the major unsolved problems in physics.
Kinematically complete experiments,[1] i.e. experiments in which the complete
momentum vector of all collision fragments (the scattered projectile, the recoiling
target-ion, and the ejected electron) are determined, have contributed to major
advances in the theoretical understanding of the few-body problem in recent years.

Adiabatic ionization
Adiabatic ionization is a form of ionization in which an electron is removed from
or added to an atom or molecule in its lowest energy state to form an ion in its
lowest energy state.[2]

The Townsend discharge is a good example of the creation of positive ions and free
electrons due to ion impact. It is a cascade reaction involving electrons in a
region with a sufficiently high electric field in a gaseous medium that can be
ionized, such as air. Following an original ionization event, due to such as
ionizing radiation, the positive ion drifts towards the cathode, while the free
electron drifts towards the anode of the device. If the electric field is strong
enough, the free electron gains sufficient energy to liberate a further electron
when it next collides with another molecule. The two free electrons then travel
towards the anode and gain sufficient energy from the electric field to cause
impact ionization when the next collisions occur; and so on. This is effectively a
chain reaction of electron generation, and is dependent on the free electrons
gaining sufficient energy between collisions to sustain the avalanche.[3]

Ionization efficiency is the ratio of the number of ions formed to the number of
electrons or photons used.[4][5]
Ionization energy of atoms

Ionization energies of neutral elements (predicted beyond 104)

The trend in the ionization energy of atoms is often used to demonstrate the
periodic behavior of atoms with respect to the atomic number, as summarized by
ordering atoms in Mendeleev's table. This is a valuable tool for establishing and
understanding the ordering of electrons in atomic orbitals without going into the
details of wave functions or the ionization process. An example is presented in the
figure at right. The periodic abrupt decrease in ionization potential after rare
gas atoms, for instance, indicates the emergence of a new shell in alkali metals.
In addition, the local maximums in the ionization energy plot, moving from left to
right in a row, are indicative of s, p, d, and f sub-shells.

Semi-classical description of ionization

Classical physics and the Bohr model of the atom can qualitatively explain
photoionization and collision-mediated ionization. In these cases, during the
ionization process, the energy of the electron exceeds the energy difference of the
potential barrier it is trying to pass. The semi-classical description, however,
cannot describe tunnel ionization since the process involves the passage of
electron through a classically forbidden potential barrier.

Quantum mechanical description of ionization

The interaction of atoms and molecules with sufficiently strong laser pulses leads
to the ionization to singly or multiply charged ions. The ionization rate, i.e. the
ionization probability in unit time, can only be calculated using quantum
mechanics. In general, the analytic solutions are not available, and the
approximations required for manageable numerical calculations do not provide
accurate enough results. However, when the laser intensity is sufficiently high,
the detailed structure of the atom or molecule can be ignored and analytic solution
for the ionization rate is possible.

Tunnel ionization

Combined potential of an atom and a uniform laser field. At distances r < r0, the
potential of the laser can be neglected, while at distances with r > r0 the Coulomb
potential is negligible compared to the potential of the laser field. The electron
emerges from under the barrier at r = Rc. Ei is the ionization potential of the
atom.
Tunnel ionization is ionization due to quantum tunneling. In classical ionization,
an electron must have enough energy to make it over the potential barrier, but
quantum tunneling allows the electron simply to go through the potential barrier
instead of going all the way over it because of the wave nature of the electron.
The probability of an electron's tunneling through the barrier drops off
exponentially with the width of the potential barrier. Therefore, an electron with
a higher energy can make it further up the potential barrier, leaving a much
thinner barrier to tunnel through and, thus, a greater chance to do so. In
practice, tunnel ionization is observable when the atom or molecule is interacting
with near-infrared strong laser pulses. This process can be understood as a process
by which a bounded electron, through the absorption of more than one photon from
the laser field, is ionized. This picture is generally known as multiphoton
ionization (MPI).

Keldysh[6] modeled the MPI process as a transition of the electron from the ground
state of the atom to the Volkov states.[7] In this model the perturbation of the
ground state by the laser field is neglected and the details of atomic structure in
determining the ionization probability are not taken into account. The major
difficulty with Keldysh's model was its neglect of the effects of Coulomb
interaction on the final state of the electron. As it is observed from figure, the
Coulomb field is not very small in magnitude compared to the potential of the laser
at larger distances from the nucleus. This is in contrast to the approximation made
by neglecting the potential of the laser at regions near the nucleus. Perelomov et
al.[8][9] included the Coulomb interaction at larger internuclear distances. Their
model (which we call PPT model) was derived for short range potential and includes
the effect of the long range Coulomb interaction through the first order correction
in the quasi-classical action. Larochelle et al.[10] have compared the
theoretically predicted ion versus intensity curves of rare gas atoms interacting
with a Ti:Sapphire laser with experimental measurement. They have shown that the
total ionization rate predicted by the PPT model fit very well the experimental ion
yields for all rare gases in the intermediate regime of Keldysh parameter.

The rate of MPI on atom with an ionization potential

E_i in a linearly polarized laser with frequency

\omega is given by

=
|

∗
|
2
6

(
2

(
2

)
3
2
)
2

∗
−
|

|
−
3
2
(
1
+

2
)
|

2
|
+
3
4

−
2

(
2

)
3
2

)
{\displaystyle W_{PPT}=\left|C_{n^{*}l^{*}}\right|^{2}{\sqrt {\frac {6}{\
pi }}}f_{lm}E_{i}\left({\frac {2}{F}}\left(2E_{i}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\
right)^{2n^{*}-|m|-{\frac {3}{2}}}\left(1+\gamma ^{2}\right)^{\left|{\frac {m}{2}}\
right|+{\frac {3}{4}}}A_{m}(\omega ,\gamma )e^{-{\frac {2}{F}}\left(2E_{i}\
right)^{\frac {3}{2}}g\left(\gamma \right)}}
where

{\displaystyle \gamma ={\frac {\omega {\sqrt {2E_{i}}}}{F}}} is the Keldysh's

adiabaticity parameter,

∗
=
2

2
{\displaystyle n^{*}={\frac {\sqrt {2E_{i}}}{Z^{2}}}},
F is the peak electric field of laser and

∗
=

∗
−
1
{\displaystyle l^{*}=n^{*}-1}.
The coefficients

f_{{lm}},

)
g(\gamma ) and

∗{\displaystyle C_{n^{*}l^{*}}} are given by

=
(
2

+
1
)
(

+
|

|
)
!
2

|
!
(

−
|

|
)
!
(

)
=
3
2

(
1
+
1
2

2
sinh
−
1
⁡
(

)
−
1
+

2
2

)
|

∗
|
2
=
2
2

∗
Γ
(

∗
+

∗
+
1
)
Γ
(

∗
−
∗
)
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}f_{lm}&={\frac {(2l+1)(l+|m|)!}{2^{m}|m|!(l-|
m|)!}}\\g(\gamma )&={\frac {3}{2\gamma }}\left(1+{\frac {1}{2\gamma ^{2}}}\sinh ^{-
1}(\gamma )-{\frac {\sqrt {1+\gamma ^{2}}}{2\gamma }}\right)\\|C_{n^{*}l^{*}}|
^{2}&={\frac {2^{2n^{*}}}{n^{*}\Gamma (n^{*}+l^{*}+1)\Gamma (n^{*}-l^{*})}}\
end{aligned}}}
The coefficient

)
{\displaystyle A_{m}(\omega ,\gamma )} is given by

)
=
4
3

1
|

|
!

2
1
+

2
∑

>

−
(

(
2

1
+

2
(

)
)
{\displaystyle A_{m}(\omega ,\gamma )={\frac {4}{3\pi }}{\frac {1}{|m|!}}{\frac {\
gamma ^{2}}{1+\gamma ^{2}}}\sum _{n>v}^{\infty }e^{-(n-v)\alpha (\gamma )}w_{m}\
left({\sqrt {{\frac {2\gamma }{\sqrt {1+\gamma ^{2}}}}(n-v)}}\right)}
where

)
=

2
∫
0

2
−

2
)

)
=
2
(
sinh
−
1
⁡
(

)
−
1
+

2
)

(
1
+
2

2
)
{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}w_{m}(x)&=e^{-x^{2}}\int _{0}^{x}(x^{2}-
y^{2})^{m}e^{y^{2}}\,dy\\\alpha (\gamma )&=2\left(\sinh ^{-1}(\gamma )-{\frac {\
gamma }{\sqrt {1+\gamma ^{2}}}}\right)\\v&={\frac {E_{i}}{\omega }}\left(1+{\frac
{2}{\gamma ^{2}}}\right)\end{aligned}}}
Quasi-static tunnel ionization
The quasi-static tunnelling (QST) is the ionization whose rate can be
satisfactorily predicted by the ADK model,[11] i.e. the limit of the PPT model when
\gamma approaches zero.[12] The rate of QST is given by

=
|

∗
|
2
6

(
2

(
2

)
3
2
)
2
∗
−
|

|
−
3
2

−
2
3

(
2

)
3
2
{\displaystyle W_{ADK}=\left|C_{n^{*}l^{*}}\right|^{2}{\sqrt {\frac {6}{\
pi }}}f_{lm}E_{i}\left({\frac {2}{F}}\left(2E_{i}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\
right)^{2n^{*}-|m|-{\frac {3}{2}}}e^{-{\frac {2}{3F}}\left(2E_{i}\right)^{\frac {3}
{2}}}}
As compared to

{\displaystyle W_{PPT}} the absence of summation over n, which represent different

above threshold ionization (ATI) peaks, is remarkable.

Strong field approximation for the ionization rate

The calculations of PPT are done in the E-gauge, meaning that the laser field is
taken as electromagnetic waves. The ionization rate can also be calculated in A-
gauge, which emphasizes the particle nature of light (absorbing multiple photons
during ionization). This approach was adopted by Krainov model[13] based on the
earlier works of Faisal[14] and Reiss.[15] The resulting rate is given by

=
∑

∞
2

o
s
c
)
2
∫
d
Ω
|

Ψ
(

)
)
|
2

2
(

o
s
c
2
)
{\displaystyle W_{KRA}=\sum _{n=N}^{\infty }2\pi \omega ^{2}p\left(n-n_{\mathrm
{osc} }\right)^{2}\int \mathrm {d} \Omega \left|FT\left(I_{KAR}\Psi \left(\mathbf
{r} \right)\right)\right|^{2}J_{n}^{2}\left(n_{f},{\frac {n_{\mathrm {osc} }}{2}}\
right)}
where:

,
{\displaystyle n_{i}=E_{i}/\omega ,}

o
s
c
=

/
{\displaystyle n_{\mathrm {osc} }=U_{p}/\omega } with
U_{p} being the ponderomotive energy,

=
[

o
s
c
]
{\displaystyle N=[n_{i}+n_{\mathrm {osc} }]} is the minimum number of photons
necessary to ionize the atom,

)
{\displaystyle J_{n}(u,v)} is the double Bessel function,

=
2

o
s
c
−

)
,
{\displaystyle p={\sqrt {2\omega (n-n_{\mathrm {osc} }-n_{i})}},}

=
2

o
s
c
/

cos
⁡
(

)
{\textstyle n_{f}=2{\sqrt {n_{\mathrm {osc} }/\omega }}p\cos(\theta )} with
\theta the angle between the momentum of the electron, p, and the electric field
of the laser, F,
FT is the three-dimensional Fourier transform, and

=
(
2

{\displaystyle I_{KAR}=\left({\frac {2Z^{2}}{n^{2}Fr}}\right)^{n}} incorporates the

Coulomb correction in the SFA model.
Atomic stabilization/population trapping
In calculating the rate of MPI of atoms only transitions to the continuum states
are considered. Such an approximation is acceptable as long as there is no
multiphoton resonance between the ground state and some excited states. However, in
real situation of interaction with pulsed lasers, during the evolution of laser
intensity, due to different Stark shift of the ground and excited states there is a
possibility that some excited state go into multiphoton resonance with the ground
state. Within the dressed atom picture, the ground state dressed by

m photons and the resonant state undergo an avoided crossing at the resonance
intensity

I_r. The minimum distance,

V_{m}, at the avoided crossing is proportional to the generalized Rabi frequency,

Γ
(

)
=
Γ

/
2
{\displaystyle \Gamma (t)=\Gamma _{m}I(t)^{m/2}} coupling the two states. According
to Story et al.,[16] the probability of remaining in the ground state,

P_g, is given by

=
exp
⁡
(
−
2

2
d

/
d

)
{\displaystyle P_{g}=\exp \left(-{\frac {2\pi W_{m}^{2}}{\mathrm {d} W/\mathrm {d}
t}}\right)}
where

W is the time-dependent energy difference between the two dressed states. In

interaction with a short pulse, if the dynamic resonance is reached in the rising
or the falling part of the pulse, the population practically remains in the ground
state and the effect of multiphoton resonances may be neglected. However, if the
states go onto resonance at the peak of the pulse, where
d

/
d

=
0
{\displaystyle \mathrm {d} W/\mathrm {d} t=0}, then the excited state is populated.
After being populated, since the ionization potential of the excited state is
small, it is expected that the electron will be instantly ionized.

In 1992, de Boer and Muller [17] showed that Xe atoms subjected to short laser
pulses could survive in the highly excited states 4f, 5f, and 6f. These states were
believed to have been excited by the dynamic Stark shift of the levels into
multiphoton resonance with the field during the rising part of the laser pulse.
Subsequent evolution of the laser pulse did not ionize completely these states
leaving behind some highly excited atoms. We shall refer to this phenomenon as
"population trapping".

Schematic presentation of lambda type population trapping. G is the ground state of

the atom. 1 and 2 are two degenerate excited states. After the population is
transferred to the states due to multiphoton resonance, these states are coupled
through continuum c and the population is trapped in the superposition of these
states.
We mention the theoretical calculation that incomplete ionization occurs whenever
there is parallel resonant excitation into a common level with ionization loss.[18]
We consider a state such as 6f of Xe which consists of 7 quasi-degnerate levels in
the range of the laser bandwidth. These levels along with the continuum constitute
a lambda system. The mechanism of the lambda type trapping is schematically
presented in figure. At the rising part of the pulse (a) the excited state (with
two degenerate levels 1 and 2) are not in multiphoton resonance with the ground
state. The electron is ionized through multiphoton coupling with the continuum. As
the intensity of the pulse is increased the excited state and the continuum are
shifted in energy due to the Stark shift. At the peak of the pulse (b) the excited
states go into multiphoton resonance with the ground state. As the intensity starts
to decrease (c), the two state are coupled through continuum and the population is
trapped in a coherent superposition of the two states. Under subsequent action of
the same pulse, due to interference in the transition amplitudes of the lambda
system, the field cannot ionize the population completely and a fraction of the
population will be trapped in a coherent superposition of the quasi degenerate
levels. According to this explanation the states with higher angular momentum- with
more sublevels- would have a higher probability of trapping the population. In
general the strength of the trapping will be determined by the strength of the two
photon coupling between the quasi-degenerate levels via the continuum. In 1996,
using the very stable laser and by minimizing the masking effects of the focal
region expansion with increasing intensity, Talebpour et al.[19] observed
structures on the curves of singly charged ions of Xe, Kr and Ar. These structures
were attributed to electron trapping in the strong laser field. A more unambiguous
demonstration of population trapping has been reported by T. Morishita and C. D.
Lin.[20]

Non-sequential multiple ionization

The phenomenon of non-sequential ionization (NSI) of atoms exposed to intense laser
fields has been a subject of many theoretical and experimental studies since 1983.
The pioneering work began with the observation of a "knee" structure on the Xe2+
ion signal versus intensity curve by L’Huillier et al.[21] From the experimental
point of view, the NS double ionization refers to processes which somehow enhance
the rate of production of doubly charged ions by a huge factor at intensities below
the saturation intensity of the singly charged ion. Many, on the other hand, prefer
to define the NSI as a process by which two electrons are ionized nearly
simultaneously. This definition implies that apart from the sequential channel

−
>

+
+

−
>

+
+
A+L->A^{+}+L->A^{{++}} there is another channel

−
>

+
+
A+L->A^{{++}} which is the main contribution to the production of doubly charged
ions at lower intensities. The first observation of triple NSI in argon interacting
with a 1 µm laser was reported by Augst et al.[22] Later, systematically studying
the NSI of all rare gas atoms, the quadruple NSI of Xe was observed.[23] The most
important conclusion of this study was the observation of the following relation
between the rate of NSI to any charge state and the rate of tunnel ionization
(predicted by the ADK formula) to the previous charge states;
(

+
)
=
∑

=
1

−
1

+
)
{\displaystyle W_{NS}(A^{n+})=\sum _{i=1}^{n-1}\alpha _{n}\left(\lambda \
right)W_{ADK}\left(A^{i+}\right)}
where

+
)
{\displaystyle W_{ADK}\left(A^{i+}\right)} is the rate of quasi-static tunneling to
i'th charge state and

)
\alpha _{n}(\lambda ) are some constants depending on the wavelength of the laser
(but not on the pulse duration).

Two models have been proposed to explain the non-sequential ionization; the shake-
off model and electron re-scattering model. The shake-off (SO) model, first
proposed by Fittinghoff et al.,[24] is adopted from the field of ionization of
atoms by X rays and electron projectiles where the SO process is one of the major
mechanisms responsible for the multiple ionization of atoms. The SO model describes
the NS process as a mechanism where one electron is ionized by the laser field and
the departure of this electron is so rapid that the remaining electrons do not have
enough time to adjust themselves to the new energy states. Therefore, there is a
certain probability that, after the ionization of the first electron, a second
electron is excited to states with higher energy (shake-up) or even ionized (shake-
off). We should mention that, until now, there has been no quantitative calculation
based on the SO model, and the model is still qualitative.

The electron rescattering model was independently developed by Kuchiev,[25] Schafer

et al,[26] Corkum,[27] Becker and Faisal[28] and Faisal and Becker.[29] The
principal features of the model can be understood easily from Corkum's version.
Corkum's model describes the NS ionization as a process whereby an electron is
tunnel ionized. The electron then interacts with the laser field where it is
accelerated away from the nuclear core. If the electron has been ionized at an
appropriate phase of the field, it will pass by the position of the remaining ion
half a cycle later, where it can free an additional electron by electron impact.
Only half of the time the electron is released with the appropriate phase and the
other half it never return to the nuclear core. The maximum kinetic energy that the
returning electron can have is 3.17 times the ponderomotive potential (

U_{p}) of the laser. Corkum's model places a cut-off limit on the minimum intensity
(

U_{p} is proportional to intensity) where ionization due to re-scattering can

occur.

Feynman diagram for the process of double ionization in an atom through re-
scattering mechanism
The re-scattering model in Kuchiev's version (Kuchiev's model) is quantum
mechanical. The basic idea of the model is illustrated by Feynman diagrams in
figure a. First both electrons are in the ground state of an atom. The lines marked
a and b describe the corresponding atomic states. Then the electron a is ionized.
The beginning of the ionization process is shown by the intersection with a sloped
dashed line. where the MPI occurs. The propagation of the ionized electron in the
laser field, during which it absorbs other photons (ATI), is shown by the full
thick line. The collision of this electron with the parent atomic ion is shown by a
vertical dotted line representing the Coulomb interaction between the electrons.
The state marked with c describes the ion excitation to a discrete or continuum
state. Figure b describes the exchange process. Kuchiev's model, contrary to
Corkum's model, does not predict any threshold intensity for the occurrence of NS
ionization.

Kuciev did not include the Coulomb effects on the dynamics of the ionized electron.
This resulted in the underestimation of the double ionization rate by a huge
factor. Obviously, in the approach of Becker and Faisal (which is equivalent to
Kuchiev's model in spirit), this drawback does not exist. In fact, their model is
more exact and does not suffer from the large number of approximations made by
Kuchiev. Their calculation results perfectly fit with the experimental results of
Walker et al.[30] Becker and Faisal[31] have been able to fit the experimental
results on the multiple NSI of rare gas atoms using their model. As a result, the
electron re-scattering can be taken as the main mechanism for the occurrence of the
NSI process.

Multiphoton ionization of inner-valence electrons and fragmentation of polyatomic

molecules
The ionization of inner valence electrons are responsible for the fragmentation of
polyatomic molecules in strong laser fields. According to a qualitative model[32]
[33] the dissociation of the molecules occurs through a three-step mechanism:
MPI of electrons from the inner orbitals of the molecule which results in a
molecular ion in ro-vibrational levels of an excited electronic state;
Rapid radiationless transition to the high-lying ro-vibrational levels of a lower
electronic state; and
Subsequent dissociation of the ion to different fragments through various
fragmentation channels.
The short pulse induced molecular fragmentation may be used as an ion source for
high performance mass spectroscopy. The selectivity provided by a short pulse based
source is superior to that expected when using the conventional electron ionization
based sources, in particular when the identification of optical isomers is
required.[34][35]

Kramers-Henneberger frame and ionization phase effects

Studying the strong field ionization of the atom in so called Kramers-Henneberger
(K-H) frame[36] leads to the conclusion that the ionization efficiency strongly
depends on the temporal details of the ionizing pulse but not necessarily on the
field strength and the total energy of the ionizing pulse pumped into the atom.[37]
The Kramers-Henneberger frame is the non-intertial frame moving with the free
electron under the influence of the harmonic laser pulse. The free electron
solution of the Newton equations for the electron in one dimension in the harmonic
laser field

d
2

2
=

sin
⁡
(

)
{\displaystyle {\frac {\mathrm {d} ^{2}x}{\mathrm {d} t^{2}}}=F\sin(\omega t)}
will be also harmonic

)
=
−

2
sin
⁡
(

)
=
−

sin
⁡
(

)
{\displaystyle x(t)=-{\frac {F}{\omega ^{2}}}\sin(\omega t)=-a\sin(\omega t)}
The frame comoving with this electron will be obtained by the coordinate
transformation

sin
⁡
(

)
{\displaystyle x\to x+a\sin(\omega t)}
while the added Coulomb potential will be

)
=
−
1
|

sin
⁡
(

)
|
{\displaystyle V(x)=-{\frac {1}{\left|x+a\sin(\omega t)\right|}}}
The full cycle time-average of that potential which is

=
−
1
2
|

2
|
−
1
2
|

2
|
{\displaystyle V_{AV}=-{\frac {1}{2\left|x+{\frac {a}{\sqrt {2}}}\right|}}-{\frac
{1}{2\left|x-{\frac {a}{\sqrt {2}}}\right|}}}
will be the even function of

x and therefore having the maximum at

=
0
x=0 while for that initial condition the solution will be

)
=
0
x(t)=0 in the K-H and it will be therefore identical to the free electron solution
in the laboratory frame. The electron velocity on the other hand is phase shifted
both to the field strength and to the electron position:

=
−

cos
⁡
(

)
{\displaystyle {\frac {\mathrm {d} x}{\mathrm {d} t}}=-{\frac {F}{\omega }}\cos(\
omega t)}
Therefore, considering the wavelet pulses and defining the ionization as the full
escape from the line segment of the length 2r (or from the spherical region in
three dimensions) the full ionization happens in the classical model after the time

/
(

)
r/(a\omega ) or no ionization at all depending if the harmonic field wavelet is cut
at the zero minimum or the maximum velocity.

Dissociation – distinction
A substance may dissociate without necessarily producing ions. As an example, the
molecules of table sugar dissociate in water (sugar is dissolved) but exist as
intact neutral entities. Another subtle event is the dissociation of sodium
chloride (table salt) into sodium and chlorine ions. Although it may seem as a case
of ionization, in reality the ions already exist within the crystal lattice. When
salt is dissociated, its constituent ions are simply surrounded by water molecules
and their effects are visible (e.g. the solution becomes electrolytic). However, no
transfer or displacement of electrons occurs.

See also
Above threshold ionization
Ionization chamber – Instrument for detecting gaseous ionization, used in ionizing
radiation measurements
Ion source
Photoionization
Thermal ionization
Electron ionization
Chemical ionization
Townsend avalanche – The chain reaction of ionization occurring in a gas with an
applied electric field
Table
Phase transitions of matter (vte)
To
From
Solid Liquid Gas Plasma
Solid Melting Sublimation
Liquid Freezing Vaporization
Gas Deposition Condensation Ionization
Plasma Recombination
References
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doi:10.1351/goldbook.A00143
Glenn F Knoll. Radiation Detection and Measurement, third edition 2000. John Wiley
and sons, ISBN 0-471-07338-5
Todd, J. F. J. (1991). "Recommendations for Nomenclature and Symbolism for Mass
Spectroscopy (including an appendix of terms used in vacuum technology)(IUPAC
Recommendations 1991)". Pure Appl. Chem. 63 (10): 1541–1566.
doi:10.1351/pac199163101541.
IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997).
Online corrected version: (2006–) "ionization efficiency".
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