Auger Shake-Up Assisted Electron Recapture.

The presence of doubly excited states (DESs) above the core-hole ionization threshold nontrivially modulates the x-ray absorption because the participator Auger decay couples DESs to the underlying low-energy core-hole continuum. We show that coupling also affects the high-energy continuum populated by the spectator Auger decay of DESs. For the K-L_{23}^{2} Auger decay of the 1s^{-1}3p^{-1}4s^{2}^{1}P state in argon, the competing nonresonant path is assigned to the recapture of the 1s photoelectron caused by emission of the fast electron from the shake-up K-L_{23}^{2} decay of the 1s^{-1} ion.

Potential Energy Surface Reconstruction and Lifetime Determination of Molecular Double-Core-Hole States in the Hard X-Ray Regime.

A combination of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and resonant Auger spectroscopy provides complementary information on the dynamic response of resonantly excited molecules. This is exemplified for CH_{3}I, for which we reconstruct the potential energy surface of the dissociative I 3d^{-2} double-core-hole state and determine its lifetime. The proposed method holds a strong potential for monitoring the hard x-ray induced electron and nuclear dynamic response of core-excited molecules containing heavy elements, where ab initio calculations of potential energy surfaces and lifetimes remain challenging.

High resolution multiphoton spectroscopy by a tunable free-electron-laser light.

Seeded free electron lasers theoretically have the intensity, tunability, and resolution required for multiphoton spectroscopy of atomic and molecular species. Using the seeded free electron laser FERMI and a novel detection scheme, we have revealed the two-photon excitation spectra of dipole-forbidden doubly excited states in helium. The spectral profiles of the lowest (-1,0)(+1) (1)S(e) and (0,1)(0) (1)D(e) resonances display energy shifts in the meV range that depend on the pulse intensity. The results are explained by an effective two-level model based on calculated Rabi frequencies and decay rates.

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the limit of subfemtosecond natural lifetime.

We present measurements of the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra of the CH(3)I molecule in the hard-x-ray region near the iodine L(2) and L(3) absorption edges. We show that dispersive RIXS spectral features that were recognized as a fingerprint of dissociative molecular states can be interpreted in terms of ultrashort natural lifetime of ∼200 attoseconds in the case of the iodine L-shell core-hole. Our results demonstrate the capacity of the RIXS technique to reveal subtle dynamical effects in molecules with sensitivity to nuclear rearrangement on a subfemtosecond time scale.

Electronic state interferences in resonant x-ray emission after K-shell excitation in HCl.

We have measured a series of high-resolution x-ray spectra emitted upon resonant photoexcitation of HCl. The photon energy was tuned across the dissociative 1s→6σ* resonance and the Rydberg states converging to the Cl 1s(-1) threshold, and inelastic photon scattering was observed in the region of KL emission lines. Excellent agreement is found between fully ab initio calculated and measured spectra if interferences between different excitation-emission paths are taken into account. The effect of electronic state interferences is enhanced due to dynamical broadening of the 6σ* resonance in HCl.

Two-photon excitation and relaxation of the 3d-4d resonance in atomic Kr.

Two-photon excitation of a single-photon forbidden Auger resonance has been observed and investigated using the intense extreme ultraviolet radiation from the free electron laser in Hamburg. At the wavelength 26.9 nm (46 eV) two photons promoted a 3d core electron to the outer 4d shell. The subsequent Auger decay, as well as several nonlinear above threshold ionization processes, were studied by electron spectroscopy. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions and analysis of the underlying multiphoton processes.

Loss to folow-up in a sample of Americans 70 years of age and older: The LSOA 1984-1990.

Loss to follow-up is a problem in longitudinal samples, and the literature on response rates in panels of older persons suggests that they may be more vulnerable to nonrandom attrition and its consequent biases. The event history approach used in this study to determine the correlates of nonresponse addresses important shortcomings of previous analyses by incorporating time-varying covariates. Nonresponse is not random; persons of older ages, lower education, who live alone, rent (not own), have more functioning impairments, or have another sample person in the household are more likely to become nonrespondents. However, correction accounting for the effect of these correlates of nonresponse, as well as unobserved characteristics potentially affecting nonresponse, suggests that the association between these characteristics and the probability of nonresponse is not large enough to introduce bias. While these results are not portable to other analyses or panels, they do indicate that in this case, significant nonrandom nonresponse does not bias all related analytic results.

Theory of multiphoton multielectron ionization of xenon under strong 93-eV radiation.

We present a theoretical interpretation of recent experimental results on multiphoton multiple ionization of xenon by soft-x-ray radiation of photon energy approximately 93 eV and intensity up to 10(16) W/cm2 [A. A Sorokin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 213002 (2007)]. The data are interpreted within multiphoton perturbation theory, taking into account the spatiotemporal distribution of the radiation. Multiphoton cross sections have been obtained through a technique of scaling, with occasional adjustment to the data, provided the two prove to be compatible. Whatever discrepancies between theory and experiment persist can be reasonably attributed to some uncertainty in the experimental conditions and possibly to the value of some cross sections, without, however, any evidence for nonperturbative behavior.

Separation of two-electron photoexcited atomic processes near the inner-shell threshold.

By means of a high resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering spectroscopy, we have for the first time separated spectral features pertaining to different two-electron atomic processes in the vicinity of an inner-shell threshold. Contributions of shakeoff, shakeup, and resonant 1s3p double excitations were extracted from the Ar KM-M{2,3}M x-ray satellite line intensity measured as a function of photon energy from [1s3p] double excitation threshold to saturation. The isolated [1s3p]nln'l' excitation spectrum is critically compared to the outcome of the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock model with relaxation.

Excitation of 1S and 3S metastable helium atoms to doubly excited states.

We present spectra of triplet and singlet metastable helium atoms resonantly photoexcited to doubly excited states. The first members of three dipole-allowed ;{1,3}P;{o} series have been observed and their relative photoionization cross sections determined, both in the triplet (from 1s2s ;{3}S;{e}) and singlet (from 1s2s ;{1}S;{e}) manifolds. The intensity ratios are drastically different with respect to transitions from the ground state. When radiation damping is included the results for the singlets are in agreement with theory, while for triplets spin-orbit interaction must also be taken into account.

Detection of the 1pe series of doubly excited helium states below N=2 via the stark effect.

The Stark effect on the doubly excited states of helium below the N=2 threshold has been studied by vacuum ultraviolet fluorescence yield spectroscopy. Two new series of states are observed at moderate fields (<10 kV/cm), and assigned to the previously unobserved even 1pe series, and a group of 1De series. The 1Se states are observed indirectly via their mixing with nearby 1 po states. The observations at moderate field contradict theoretical predictions that field strengths about an order of magnitude greater are necessary to observe the Stark effect on He doubly excited states at low quantum numbers.