Interatomic or intermolecular
Coulombic decay (ICD) is a nonlocal
electronic decay mechanism occurring in weakly bound matter. In an
ICD process, energy released by electronic relaxation of an excited
atom or molecule leads to ionization of a neighboring one via Coulombic
electron interactions. ICD has been predicted theoretically in the
mid nineties of the last century, and its existence has been confirmed
experimentally approximately ten years later. Since then, a number
of fundamental and applied aspects have been studied in this quickly
growing field of research. This review provides an introduction to
ICD and draws the connection to related energy transfer and ionization
processes. The theoretical approaches for the description of ICD as
well as the experimental techniques developed and employed for its
investigation are described. The existing body of literature on experimental
and theoretical studies of ICD processes in different atomic and molecular
systems is reviewed.
Auger decay carries valuable information about the electronic structure and dynamics of atoms, molecules, and solids. Here we furnish evidence that under certain conditions Auger electrons are subject to an energetic chirp. The effect is disclosed in time-resolved streaking experiments on the Xe NOO and Kr MNN Auger decay using extreme-ultraviolet pulses from the free-electron laser in Hamburg as well as from a high-order harmonic laser source. The origin of this effect is found to be an exchange of energy between the Auger electron and an earlier emitted correlated photoelectron. The observed time-dependent spectral modulations are understood within an analytical model and confirmed by extensive computer simulations.
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