Angle-resolved study of the Auger electron cascades following the 1s→3p photoexcitation of Ne

The spectra of Auger electrons are measured for the cascade decay of the photoexcited 1s-13p resonance in Ne. Angular distributions of the Auger electrons for the prominent peaks of the spectra are determined. It is shown that in the first step of the cascade which corresponds to the spectator (shake-modified spectator) transitions 1s-13p→2s-12p-13p(4p) and 1s-13p→2s-23p(4p) the electrons are emitted almost isotropically. In contrast, the majority of the second-step transitions 2s-12p-13p(4p)→2p-2 and 2s-23p(4p)→2s-12p-1 shows strong anisotropy. A qualitative explanation of the observed results is given.