Atomic magneto-dipole photoionization

The special features of magneto-dipole photoionization of atomic s states are analyzed and the possibilities of experimental observation of this effect are discussed. It has been shown that despite the smallness of total cross sections for magnetic processes as compared with electric-dipole ones, the experimental observation of magnetic effects is possible, in principle, if photoelectrons are detected in the directions perpendicular to both the polarization vector of photon and its momentum; i.e. in the directions where the differential cross section for electric-dipole ionization of atomic s states is close to zero. The capabilities of the derived general formulas for the magneto-dipole cross sections are illustrated by numerical calculations for s subshells of He and Be atoms.