Bibliography and database of inner shell excitation spectra of gas phase atoms and molecules

An annotated bibliography of articles consisting of theoretical or experimental studies of inner shell (core) excitation of atoms or molecules is provided. A computer database consisting of 374 spectra of 191 molecules has been assembled. All of these spectra were recorded by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the electric dipole regime. The database spectra are presented as both raw data and after conversion of the isolated core excitation signal to an absolute oscillator strength (f-value) scale. An improved scheme for deriving absolute oscillator strengths is described and tested. Instructions are provided for accessing the database with the file transfer protocol (FTP) over the Internet. Such spectra may be useful for fingerprint comparisons, comparisons to calculations, etc. In the future the database will be extended to include data from other sources, including gas phase photoabsorption spectra recorded by direct optical means, as well as critical commentary on data base entries.