|
Clusters in XUV Radiation Fields
Robin Santra Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics Harvard University
The behavior of weakly bound clusters exposed to XUV radiation in two
different regimes of intensity is discussed. At the intensities currently
provided by synchrotron radiation sources, only one-photon absorption
plays a role. A cluster is singly ionized and a hole in the valence shell
is formed. In atoms and small molecules, an inner valence hole is
electronically stable, but in clusters an ultrafast, Auger-like decay
process can occur. This process, referred to as Interatomic Coulombic Decay
(ICD), is characterized by an efficient Coulombic energy transfer mechanism
between monomers in the cluster. The talk provides a basic overview of the
phenomenon of ICD. The most important theoretical predictions are presented,
together with recent experimental evidence for ICD in neon clusters. In the
second part of the talk, motivated by a recent experiment using the new
free-electron laser at DESY in Hamburg, the interaction of xenon clusters
with intense VUV radiation is analyzed. In the experiment, xenon clusters
were found to absorb a very large number of VUV photons, many more than had
been anticipated---based on the experience with long-wavelength lasers. The
theoretical description developed accounts for the experimental observation.
Key aspects are the rapid formation of a dense nanoplasma and the efficiency
of photon absorption in electron--ion collisions, a process known as Inverse
Bremsstrahlung.
|