Spin asymmetry in electron impact ionization of caesium

We measured the total ionization asymmetry A in dependence on the incident electron energy E. Here 'total' refers to integration over all emission angles and energy partitions of the outgoing electrons. From a threshold value of A = 0.125 the A(E) curve rises smoothly toward a broad maximum of Amax = 0.31 at Emax = 8.3 eV. The fall-off towards higher energies is quite similar to that of the other one-electron atoms. However, it shows a structure which can be explained by contributions from autoionizing P states. (author)