L-shell internal ionization accompanyingLcapture

The $L$-shell internal ionization accompanying $L$ capture has been considered. Numerical calculations of the internal-ionization probabilities per $L$ capture and the energy spectra of electrons ejected during this process are presented for low-energy transitions in high-$Z$ elements. Screened relativistic hydrogenic wave functions are used. The effect of the presence of a hole resulting from electron capture is included in the screening constant for the daughter atom. It is shown that the ionization probability per $L$ capture depends upon $\frac{B_i}{E_0}$, where $E_0$ is the transition energy of the ordinary electron capture and $B_i$ is the $L_i$-shell binding energy of the daughter atom ($i=1,2,3\mathrm{}$). The calculated results also predict that observation of this process is possible when the $K$-shell internal-ionization process during $K$ capture is forbidden energetically. Possible experiments to detect this phenomenon are briefly discussed.