Relative Abundances of Ions Formed as the Result of Inner-Shell Vacancies in Atoms

Abstract

Relative abundances of differently charged ions were measured following the x irradiation of Xe, and, in separate experiments, of Hg. These studies were carried out for a variety of x-ray energies in order to obtain data as a function of the initial inner-shell vacancies. From the data we have derived charge spectra that result from producing an initial vacancy in each of the following shells: the $K$, $L_{\mathrm{I}}$, $L_{\mathrm{II},\mathrm{III}}$, $M_{\mathrm{I}}$, $M_{\mathrm{II},\mathrm{III}}$, $M_{\mathrm{IV},\mathrm{V}}$, and $N$ shells of Xe; and the $L$, $M$, $N$, and $O$ shells of Hg. These data are correlated with earlier measurements on He, Ne, Ar, and Kr; and empirical rules are set up whereby one may estimate the average charge resulting from the atomic readjustment to a vacancy in any shell of any atom.