Model of the electronic wake (blue surfaces) generated by an energetic proton (red sphere) traveling in an aluminum crystal. The resulting change in electronic density is responsible for modification of chemical bonds between the atoms and consequently for a change in their interactions.

From the article:

Nonadiabatic Forces in Ion-Solid Interactions: The Initial Stages of Radiation Damage
Alfredo A. Correa, Jorge Kohanoff, Emilio Artacho, Daniel Sánchez-Portal, and Alfredo Caro
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 213201 (2012)

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