K alpha, K beta, and radiative Auger photon intensities in K x-ray spectra from atoms in the 20

Abstract

Accurate measurements of the x-ray intensity ratio I(K\ensuremath{\beta})/I(K\ensuremath{\alpha}) from electron-capture radionuclides, using Si(Li) detectors of calibrated line shape, eliminate an existing large discrepancy between experiment and relativistic Hartree-Fock predictions. Small systematic discrepancies in the literature ratios for the mechanisms of photoionization, and electron and proton excitation, are attributed to omission of radiative Auger (RA) satellites in spectrum analysis. With the inclusion of RA peaks in the spectrum fitting, the present data support Scofield's predictions of I(K\ensuremath{\beta})/I(K\ensuremath{\alpha}) at the 1% accuracy level, an important conclusion for elemental analysis techniques such as proton-induced x-ray emission and x-ray fluorescence. The resulting radiative Auger intensities also agree quite well with calculations.