Xenon 5p–4d cascade emission upon 3d-photoionization

Abstract
We investigated the photon-emission spectrum of Xe atoms upon photoionization of the Xe 3d-subshell. The 5p-4d spectrum is emitted in the process of the cascading decay of the 3d-vacancy and has a complex multi-component structure reflecting a great number of transitions from various ionic configurations produced during the cascade development. The spectrum is assigned by the direct construction of the cascade de-excitation tree. 21 different transitions between configurations of multiply charged Xe ions (+2 to +6) are found to be contributing to the spectrum. The 5p-4d partial fluorescence yield is found to be six times greater for the 3d-ionization than for the 4d-ionization. The effect of the multiplet splitting in the initial and final states of the emitting transitions is studied.