CORE EXCITATION IN FREE CLUSTERS: IONIZATION, RELAXATION, AND FRAGMENTATION

Cluster-size-dependent spectroscopic changes are reported for the Ar(2p) core ionization, electronic relaxation via Auger decay, and subsequent fragmentation of free argon clusters with sizes up to 700 atoms. Excitation spectra recorded using zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectrons, Auger electrons, as well as multicoincidence ion mass spectra, are reported. It is found that core ionization energies decrease as the cluster size increases from …