Dynamical Angular Correlation in Molecular Auger Decay

International audienceThe first measurements of the angular distribution of Auger electrons from fixed-in-space molecules have been performed in the C K-shell ionization region of CO, for both parallel and perpendicular orientations of the molecular axis with respect to the light polarization vector. The angular distributions obtained for the CO2+B1Σ Auger final state show dramatic spectral variations, which also depend on the initial ionization channels, Σ or Π, and on the ionization photon energy. This dynamical angular correlation process strongly suggests the breakdown of a two-step model in which the Auger decay is treated independently of the initial photoionization process