A modified magnetic bottle electron spectrometer for the detection of multiply charged ions in coincidence with all correlated electrons: decay pathways to Xe3+ above xenon-4d ionization threshold

Single-photon multiple photoionization results from electron correlations that make this process possible beyond the independent electron approximation. To study this phenomenon experimentally, the detection in coincidence of all emitted electrons is the most direct approach. It provides the relative contribution of all possible multiple ionization processes, the energy distribution between electrons that can reveal simultaneous or sequential mechanisms, and, if possible, the angular correlations between electrons. In the present work, we present a new magnet design of our magnetic bottle electron spectrometer that allows the detection of multiply charged Xeⁿ⁺ ions in coincidence with n electrons. This new coincidence detection allows more efficient extraction of minor channels that are otherwise masked by random coincidences. The proof of principle is provided for xenon triple ionization.

Evidence of Extreme Ultraviolet Superfluorescence in Xenon

We present a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study on superfluorescence in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength regime. Focusing a free-electron laser pulse in a cell filled with Xe gas, the medium is quasi-instantaneously population inverted by 4d-shell ionization on the giant resonance followed by Auger decay. On the timescale of ∼10  ps to ∼100  ps (depending on parameters) a macroscopic polarization builds up in the medium, resulting in superfluorescent emission of several Xe lines in the forward direction. As the number of emitters in the system is increased by either raising the pressure or the pump-pulse energy, the emission yield grows exponentially over four orders of magnitude and reaches saturation. With increasing yield, we observe line broadening, a manifestation of superfluorescence in the spectral domain. Our novel theoretical approach, based on a full quantum treatment of the atomic system and the irradiated field, shows quantitative agreement with the experiment and supports our interpretation.