Pronounced effects of interchannel coupling in high-energy photoionization

The 3d core level photoemission of metallic Ag and In was measured over a wide energy range including the 2p ionization thresholds. The intensities (photoionization cross sections) of the 3d 5/2 and 3d 3/2 lines were observed to modulate significantly with photon energy, both absolute and relative, and this is most pronounced in the vicinity of the 2p thresholds, i.e., at photon energies about an order of magnitude above the 3d thresholds. Calculations based on the relativistic-random-phase approximation show that this effect is due to interchannel coupling of the 3d photoionization channels with the 2p channels affecting the cross section over a wide range of energies. It is argued that this is a general phenomenon in high-energy photoionization throughout the periodic table.