Electron polarization in the resonant inelastic scattering on hydrogen-like ions

Abstract

We investigate the polarization of the electron beam acquired during the inelastic resonant scattering on hydrogen-like ions initially being in the ground state. The formation and subsequent Auger decay of the intermediate (3l3l') doubly excited states in the resonant channel modify the mechanism of polarization change by enhancing both spin-orbit and exchange interactions. Consequently, in the presence of the resonant channel, the acquired polarization can be clearly observed even for light ions when it is challenging to discern which state of the ion was excited in the process. We also show that the energy dependence of the polarization parameter clearly demonstrates strong interference both between the contributions of specific autoionizing states in the resonant channel and between the non-resonant and resonant channels.