Branching ratios and the partial photoionization cross-section for the 3s electron of argon

Binding-energy spectra obtained using the dipole (e, 2e) electron impact coincidence method have been used to derive the 3s/3p cross-section ratios for the photoionization of argon up to 75 eV. The 3s and 3p photoionization branching ratios have been obtained by making use of recently determined double photoionization yields. The partial photoionization cross-section (oscillator strength) for 3s ionization, obtained using the branching ratio and the known total photoionization cross-section, shows the deep minimum ca. 10 eV above threshold which has been predicted by those theoretical calculations which include electron correlation effects. Below 50 eV the cross-section is in excellent agreement with the SRPAE calculation. The results are in close agreement with recent measurements made using synchrotron radiation but are consistently smaller below the minimum and larger at the higher energies.