Autoionization cross section of potassium atom excited by electron impact

The autoionization cross section of potassium atoms excited by electron impact is measured in the energy range from the first autoionization threshold at 18.72 eV to 202 eV. The data are obtained by deter-mining the total intensity of electron spectra resulting from the decay of the 3p (5) n (1) l (1) n (2) l (2) autoionizing states. The cross section has two maxima, 1.8 x 10(-16) and 2.2 x 10(-16) cm(2), at 21 and 32 eV, respectively. The excitation dynamics of autoionization states suggests that the first maximum is associated with the resonance character of the near-threshold excitation. The second maximum, as well as the behavior of the cross section at energies above 50 eV, reflects the dynamics of electron excitation of quartet and doublet autoionizing states. The measured autoionization cross section is compared with known data for the total single ionization cross section of potassium atom by electron impact. The relative contribution of the autoionization cross section to the total single ionization cross section is found to reach 30% at 32 eV.