Autoionisation in Atomspektren

Abstract

A detailed discussion of the phenomenon of autoionization and its influence on the absorption spectra of atomic gases is given. Some consideration is devoted to the calculation of cross sections. This theory is applied to the autoionizing Rydberg levels lying above the 2P3/2 threshold of the rare gases krypton and xenon. A numerical calculation is decribed which alows the important parameters of Rydberg series to be calculated. These parameters are the so called unperturbed continuum, the lifetime and oscillator strength of the autoionizing states, the line shape parameter and the quantum defect. From absorption measurements in argon and krypton considerations follow concerning the behaviour of these terms at threshold. A further result of the calculations is the transition probality into the ionic states 2P3/2 and 2P1/2 at the 2P1/2 limit. These values are compared with measured intensities of photoelectrons from a retarding potential experiment.