Onset of d screening in alkali and alkaline earths

A modified excited atom model incorporating a polynomial expansion of the core potential is used to predict relaxation and Auger parameter shifts between free atoms and elemental solids for alkali and alkaline earths systems. Na and Mg are well described by sp screening; the other alkaline earth metals exhibit d screening in both single and double hole states, while the other alkalis require d screening in the final state of the Auger process. These results for simple metals are used to aid interpretation of electron spectroscopic shifts in more complex alloy systems.