ABSTRACT
In theoretical studies of intense X-ray laser impact on small argon clusters we observed a suppression of ionization for clusters compared to that of single atoms. This is in contrast to experimental and theoretical investigations of cluster ionization in intense optical laser pulses. The underlying mechanisms of laser-cluster interaction at X-ray wavelengths are revealed by studying the timedependent ionization and shell-specific contributions to the total ionization yield. Additional insight is obtained by varying pulse length and frequency of the laser.
