Measurement of the XUV photoabsorption spectra of atomic zinc and its ions : n = 1, 2, and 3 in the region of 3p-subshell excitation

Photoabsorption studies, using the dual laser plasma technique, have been initiated along the zinc isonuclear sequence as far as in the energy region corresponding to 3p-subshell electron excitation. For neutral, singly and doubly ionized zinc the 3d-subshell remains closed and excitations of the type 3p - ns have been found to predominate. The symmetric nature of the resonance profiles is evidence of the weak interaction of these discrete states with the underlying continua. The relatively large widths of the resonances can be interpreted as being mostly due to the nonradiative decay of the 3p core hole through both super and normal Coster - Kronig decay processes. The spectral signature of the `transition metal-like' 3p - 3d resonance is dramatically different, the asymmetric nature of which reflects the increased interaction between direct 3d photoionization and the discrete excitation processes. The main resonances in the spectra of , and have been parametrized and compared with calculations based on both single-particle and collective models.