Siegbahn notation

The Siegbahn notation is used in <a href="/facts/X-ray_spectroscopy/spWfPwYK">X-ray spectroscopy</a> to name the <a href="/facts/Spectral_line/HuI4Bj5f">spectral lines</a> that are characteristic to elements. It was introduced by <a href="/facts/Manne_Siegbahn/n4QCgFAG">Manne Siegbahn</a>.
The <a href="/facts/Characteristic_X-ray/Qw75UEha">characteristic lines</a> in X-ray emission spectra correspond to <a href="/facts/Atomic_electronic_transition/HeaF4JJk">atomic electronic transitions</a> where an electron jumps down to a vacancy in one of the inner shells of an atom. Such a hole in an inner shell may have been produced by bombardment with electrons in an <a href="/facts/X-ray_tube/tx0dTDqp">X-ray tube</a>, by other particles as in <a href="/facts/PIXE/TIwVjgqB">PIXE</a>, by other X-rays in <a href="/facts/X-ray_fluorescence/eIUz3wwS">X-ray fluorescence</a> or by <a href="/facts/Radioactive/Ya6FVjt4">radioactive</a> decay of the atom's nucleus.
Although still widely used in spectroscopy, this notation is unsystematic and often confusing. For these reasons, <a href="/facts/International_Union_of_Pure_and_Applied_Chemistry/2AV6myCK">International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry</a> (IUPAC) recommends <a href="/facts/X-ray_notation/Ld0HzeU6">another nomenclature</a>.

Siegbahn notation open-in-new

Siegbahn notation