Decay pathways after Xe 3d inner shell ionization using a multi-electron coincidence technique

Abstract

Cascade Auger electron emission following Xe 3d photoionization has been investigated using a multi-electron coincidence technique, which utilizes an electron spectrometer of magnetic bottle type. It has been found that the Xe2+ states of the 4p−14d−1 configuration, formed by the Auger decay of the Xe+ 3d3/2, 5/2−1 states, dominantly turn into triply charged states of the 4d−25p−1/4d−25s−1 configurations. The Xe2+ 4s−14d−1 states, formed by the 3d Auger decay, yield the 4p−14d−15p−1 states as well as the 4d−3 states. From the coincidence spectrum among three Auger electrons, it is suggested that the Xe2+ 4p−14d−1 states give rise to the following cascade processes: 4p−14d−1 → 4d−25p−1 → 4d−15p−3.