The ionization and dissociation of ammonia by impact of protons is investigated experimentally in a wide range of energies from 125 to 2700 keV. Coincidence measurements are used to separate single from multiple ionization. The role of the charge sign of the projectile was analyzed for the ionization by comparing the proton with previous electron data. The energy dependence of the single and multiple-ionization cross sections allowed us to evaluate the role of second-order mechanisms. For single ionization, the role of a two-step mechanism was inferred. The double-ionization cross section showed that postcollisional deexcitation takes over the two-step sequential ionization above 800 keV. Triple ionization is prompted mostly by postcollisional Auger decay.

• Received 2 June 2020
• Revised 17 September 2020
• Accepted 27 October 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.102.052821