Angular Dependence of the Polarization of Photoelectrons Ejected by Plane-Polarized Radiation from Argon and Xenon Atoms

The photoelectrons produced by ionization of argon and xenon atoms with linearly polarized vacuum-ultraviolet radiation of the helium resonance wavelength 58.43 nm have been analyzed simultaneously as to their energy, angle of emission, and spin. Degrees of spin polarization up to 0.5 have been found. The results verify the theoretically predicted angular dependence of the photoelectron polarization. The asymmetry parameter β describing the angular distribution of the cross section is determined via electron intensity and polarization measurements.