Application of the relativistic local-density approximation to photoionization of the outer shells of neon, argon, krypton, and xenon

Parameters describing the low-energy photoionization of the outer shells of the rare gases Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe have been calculated using a relativistic generalization of the time-dependent local-density approximation. The resulting photoionization cross sections, angular-distribution asymmetry parameters, and spin polarization parameters are presented here. The results are found to be in good agreement with those from the relativistic random-phase approximation (RRPA), even though the present theory is simpler, formally and computationally, than the latter. These results, and those of the RRPA, are generally in good agreement with experiment, illustrating the utility of the present approach to photoionization, especially for heavy atoms in which both relativistic and correlation effects are important.