Random and channeled energy loss of 33.2-TeV Pb nuclei in silicon single crystals

Measurements of the energy loss and the energy-loss distributions of 160 GeV/amu fully stripped lead ions traversing a silicon single crystal are presented. The energy loss is measured using the silicon crystal as an intrinsic detector. Hence the measured energy loss is a restricted energy loss excluding very large energy transfers. For random incidence, the observed energy-loss distributions are very narrow and Gaussian-like. For well-channeled particles, the energy loss is strongly reduced as compared to so-called random particles. The observed energy loss is compared to calculations as well as simulations. Due to the small straggling, the energy-loss distributions are reflecting directly the distribution in transverse energy.