Sudden Rearrangements in Intermediate Molecular Systems

Intensity oscillations are observed in the quasimolecular K x-ray spectrum emitted in high-energy ⁵⁸Ni-⁵⁸Ni collisions. The oscillating structure is shown, theoretically, to reflect the existence of a two-step mechanism for the production of molecular-orbital K x rays in which sudden rearrangements of molecular-orbital populations are produced by vibrations between atomic and molecular orbitals of K-hole states during the interpenetration of the electronic clouds.