New electron-photon coincidence technique using enhanced photon detection probabilities

We show that networks of loosely bound noble gases, so-called clusters, drastically change their reaction on the excitation with light of narrow bandwidth if a small amount of another noble gas is added into this network. For this purpose, we combined complementary photon and electron measurements to illustrate the reduction of the photon emission by a competing electron emission process due to the interaction of the different binding partners.  In the experiment, first pure neon clusters were resonantly excited below their ionization threshold. These clusters relax by the re-emission of photons, i.e. radiatively. 

The addition of argon atoms into the neon network however allows the emission of an electron since the ionization of argon is lower than the energy stored in the neon. Therefore, no photon emission occurs anymore as the absorbed energy is now used to emit an electron from the argon atoms. 

The neon atoms work as an antenna for exciting-photons with energies in vicinity of the neon cluster resonances and transfer the energy to the argon atoms leading to a strongly enhanced ionization probability than for pure argon clusters at corresponding energies.