Alignment after L3 ionization of Xe atoms by electron impact near threshold

We have measured the alignment A(20) of Xe+ ions after L-3 ionization (ionization energy E(2P(3/2)) = 4.787 keV) by electron impact for the primary energies E-0 = 6.0, 5.438 and 5.0 keV via the angular distribution of Xe Ll (L3M1) x-ray intensity. The alignment values obtained are A(20) = 0.060(12), 0.048(8) and 0.03(7) for the above-mentioned impact energies. These small alignment values also indicate that two-electron partial waves with L > 0 contribute strongly to the cross section of the (e, 2e) process. Our alignment values disagree with the values obtained by Aydinol et al for E-0 < 8 keV, especially with A(20) = -0.91 (3 1) for E-0 = 6.0 keV. Our results agree qualitatively well with theoretical values calculated by Kabachnik.