K-shell x-ray spectroscopy of atomic nitrogen

TL;DR

This study combines experimental and theoretical approaches to measure and analyze the K-shell photoionization cross sections and resonance features of atomic nitrogen, providing new high-precision data for this challenging atom.

Contribution

It presents the first high-resolution K-edge spectroscopy measurements for atomic nitrogen and integrates experimental data with advanced theoretical calculations.

Findings

K-shell binding energy of atomic nitrogen is 409.64 ± 0.02 eV.

Identification of strong 1s → np resonance features.

Agreement between experiment and theory in cross section data.

Abstract

Absolute {\it K}-shell photoionization cross sections for atomic nitrogen have been obtained from both experiment and state-of-the-art theoretical techniques. Due to the difficulty of creating a target of neutral atomic nitrogen, no high-resolution {\it K}-edge spectroscopy measurements have been reported for this important atom. Interplay between theory and experiment enabled identification and characterization of the strong $1s$ $\rightarrow$ $np$ resonance features throughout the threshold region. An experimental value of 409.64 $\pm$ 0.02 eV was determined for the {\it K}-shell binding energy.