Angular distributions for double photoionization of helium: a comparative study

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We have performed calculations of the triply differential cross section (TDCS) for double photoionization of helium. Our calculations are based on two different ab initio methods, one where the final continuum state is represented by a product of three Coulomb wavefunctions, with the dipole matrix element evaluated directly, the other where the final state is represented by a product of two screened Coulomb wavefunctions, which is substituted into a flux formula that in principle yields exact results. We compare the results of the two calculations with each other and also with two different sets of experimental data, for various geometries, for various ratios of the energies of the two photoelectrons, and for various photon energies such that the total energy of the photoelectrons ranges from 0.6-20 eV above threshold. The theoretical results for the shapes of the TDCS are in good agreement with the experimental data and also with each other, although the calculated absolute values of the TDCS differ. We comment on various features of the angular distributions.