Configuration rearrangement effects on beam-foil projectile K X-rays

A beam-foil projectile with one or more K-vacancies will change its L-shell configuration many times via collisions with target atoms before a (the) K-vacancy becomes filled. This process is referred to as “configuration squelching.” Each configuration will exist for a much shorter duration, namely, the mean squelching time, than the total mean life of the K-shell vacancy. It can be shown that configuration squelching will result in the in-foil projectile ion K X-ray satellite components being both a) shifted in their mean energy and b) appreciably broadened as compared with the post-foil spectrum. Also, c) the relative intensities of the spectral lines will become reduced the more, the greater the corresponding configuration lifetime, and metastable state decay radiation may effectively disappear.