Relaxation dynamics of SF 6 studied by energy-resolved electron ion coincidence technique

Abstract

The mass spectra from the SF 6 molecule acquired by energy-resolved electron ion coincidence (EREICO) technique using (1t 1g + [5t 1u,1t 2u]), (3e g + 1t 2g), 4t 1u, and 5a 1g electrons after both valence and S 2p −1 6a 1g core excitation reveal a strong selectivity in the dissociation from these states. From the comparison of the obtained spectra, the influence of the core-excited state in the relaxation pathway of the molecule is studied. The S 2p → 6a 1g core excitation does not affect the relaxation dynamics after participator Auger decay to the (1t 1g + [5t 1u,1t 2u]) −1 and (4t 1u) −1 states, but it alters the relaxation dynamics after participator Auger decay to the (3e g + 1t 2g) −1 and (5a 1g) −1 states with respect to the decay processes after direct excitation of the same orbitals. These observations point to core excitation induced dissociation in the SF 6 molecule.