Polarization of a Two-Electron, One-PhotonKX-Ray Transition

Abstract

We have observed a large linear polarization for the low-energy $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ x-ray satellite, $K{L}^{1}$ radiative electron-rearrangement (RER) ($1{s}^{\ensuremath{-}1}2{p}^{\ensuremath{-}1}^{1}P_{1}\ensuremath{-}2{s}^{\ensuremath{-}2}^{1}S_{0}$) two-electron, one-photon transition, in Si and Al targets when bombarded by 2.0-MeV He. This observation supports the interpretation of the origin of the $K{L}^{n}\mathrm{RER}$ satellites since both the $K{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ polarization and the $K{L}^{1}\mathrm{RER}$ polarization reflect the nonstatistical population of the magnetic substates of the initial state.