Electron-impact single ionization of Xe10+ ions

Absolute cross sections for electron-impact single ionization of Xe10+ ions have been measured by employing the crossed-beam technique in the electron-ion collision energy range from threshold up to 1000 eV. In addition, fine-step energy-scan measurements of the cross-section function have been performed revealing resonant structures associated with the excitation of an electron from inner electron subshells. For better understanding of the relative importance of direct and indirect ionization contributions to the measured cross section, configuration-averaged distorted-wave calculations have been performed. Significant contributions of indirect processes involving inner-shell excitation with subsequent autoionization could be identified. Furthermore, the calculations reveal that an approximate to 1% fraction of metastable ions present in the parent Xe10+ ion beam has been analysed.