Resonant double Auger decay in carbon<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi mathvariant="italic">K</mml:mi></mml:math>-shell excitation of CO

Abstract

We have studied double Auger decay after $\text{C}\text{ }1s\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{\ast}}$ photoexcitation in gas phase carbon monoxide. Two distinct processes, namely direct double Auger decay and cascade double Auger decay, are identified and studied in detail using multiple coincidence techniques. Cascade Auger decay is shown to be the overall dominant process. Decay channels involving the dissociation of the molecule followed by autoionization of the oxygen fragments are observed.