Angular distribution of Auger electrons from fixed-in-space and rotating C 1s→2π photoexcited CO: Theory

The one-center approach for molecular Auger decay is applied to predict the angular distribution of Auger electrons from rotating and fixed-in-space molecules. For that purpose, phase shifts between the Auger decay amplitudes have been incorporated in the atomic model. The approach is applied to the resonant Auger decay of the photoexcited C 1s -> 2 pi resonance in carbon monoxide. It is discussed how the symmetry of the final ionic state is related to features in the angular distributions and a parametrization for the molecular frame Auger electron angular distribution is suggested. The angular distribution of Auger electrons after partial orientation of the molecule by the sigma ->pi-excitation process is also calculated and compared to available experimental and theoretical data. The results of the one-center approach are at least of the same quality as the available theoretical data even though the latter stem from a much more sophisticated method. As the one-center approximation can be applied with low computational demand even to extended systems, the present approach opens a way to describe the angular distribution of Auger electrons in a wide variety of applications.