Inner-Shell Ionization Induced by Nuclear Coulomb Excitation in Collisions of Very Heavy Ions

$K$- and $L$-shell ionization of ${}_{}{}^{238}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{U}$ with Xe and U projectiles is investigated. Internal conversion following nuclear Coulomb excitation which is particularly important for deformed heavy nuclei is compared with direct ionization of inner-shell electrons in superheavy quasimolecules. Both processes exhibit different impact-parameter dependences. As a result of internal conversion, about 0.1-0.3 $K$ holes per central collision are created.