Auger decay of the dissociating core-excited states in the HCl and DCl molecules

High-resolution Auger electron spectra from the decay of the Cl 2p→σ* excitation in HCl and DCl have been measured. The spectra are analyzed, separating molecular and atomic features, which are assigned to transitions to the HCl (5σ2π)4σ* and Cl (3s3p)6 states, respectively. Auger line shapes, as affected by the molecular dissociation, are studied by comparing the experiment with the results of Monte-Carlo computer simulations based on a semiclassical model.