Slowing down of fast ions in a small-diameter plasma sphere

A calculation is given of the time dependence of the energy losses experienced by fast ions in a laser-beamheated small-diameter plasma drop $d\lesssim l$, where $l$ is the mean free path of a fast ion in the investigated plasma). It is assumed that the plasma temperature lies in the range in which the electron-ion collisions are the dominant mechanism of the deceleration of fast ions.