Interatomic resonant Auger effect in N₂O

The interatomic resonant Auger effect in N₂O is investigated experimentally and theoretically. We observe variations of the ratio between the yields of 1s-photoionization of the central and terminal nitrogen atom in the photon energy range across the O 1s → π* excitation. The present ab initio calculations of electronic structure and dynamics attribute these variations to the Fano interference between the direct N 1s-photoionizations and the resonant O 1s → π* excitation followed by Auger decays into the respective core–shell continua. The theory reveals that this interatomic core–hole-transfer effect is governed entirely by an energy transfer mechanism, and not by charge transfer. (paper)