Solvation Effects on the Electron-Transfer-Mediated Decay Process in Doubly Ionized Auger Final States

We have investigated the electron-transfer-mediated decay (ETMD) process associated with the Auger final state of the Ne⁺(1s^-1)(H₂O)_n (n = 1, 4) cluster. After core ionization of Ne, a fast Auger decay takes place, which produces Ne²⁺(2s^-2), Ne²⁺(2s^-1 2p^-1), and Ne²⁺(2p^-2) dications. Despite the substantially high double ionization potential for water (≈39 eV), the ETMD channel is open for Ne²⁺(2p^-2, ¹S) and Ne²⁺(2p^-2, ¹D) states. We studied the ETMD process for the ¹S and ¹D doubly ionized states of the Ne atom in the presence of different numbers of water molecules. Furthermore, we investigate the dependence of the ETMD decay width of the Ne²⁺(2p^-2, ¹S) and Ne²⁺(2p^-2, ¹D) states in the Ne(H₂O)₂ cluster on variations in bond distance. Additionally, we examined the effect of the proton transfer process on the ETMD mechanism of the ¹D and ¹S doubly ionized states.