Atomic bremsstrahlung produced by light-ionatom collisions below 1 MeV/amu

X rays from an Al target bombarded with protons of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 MeV/amu and particles of 0.5 MeV/amu were measured with a Si(Li) detector. Production cross sections and spectra of the continuum radiation were obtained in the x-ray energy region of 26 keV and were compared with theoretical predictions for atomic bremsstrahlung (AB), secondary-electron bremsstrahlung, radiative ionization, and nuclear bremsstrahlung. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained. It is shown that in the region of bombarding energy less than 1.0 MeV/amu, atomic bremsstrahlung is the most predominant process. The Zp2 dependence of the AB production cross section, Zp being the projectile charge, is experimentally confirmed, and the angular distribution of AB measured for 0.5-MeV/amu protons is found to be symmetric about 90°with respect to the incident beam, in agreement with the theoretical prediction.