First prediction of inter-Coulombic decay of C60 inner vacancies through the continuum of confined atoms

Considering the photoionization of Ar@C60 and Kr@C60 endofullerenes, the decay of C60 innershell excitations through the outershell continuum of the confined atom via the inter-Coulombic decay (ICD) pathway is detailed. Excitations to atom-C60 hybrid states demonstrate coherence between ICD and electron-transfer mediated decay (ETMD). This should be the dominant above-threshold decay process for a variety of confined systems, and the strength of these resonances is such that they should be amenable for study by photoelectron spectroscopy.