Evidence of sequentially formed charge patches guiding ions through nanocapillaries.

We investigated the time evolution of the dynamically shifting distribution of 7 keV Ne7+ ions guided through nanocapillaries in SiO2. We present evidence for a small number of charge patches, formed sequentially in the charging-up process, guiding the ions. We show that the charge patches are distributed along the whole length of the capillaries and that they are maintained in the equilibrium state of transmission. The interpretations are supported by model calculations.