Photoemission time-delay measurements and calculations close to the 3s ionization minimum in Ar

We present experimental measurements and theoretical calculations of photoionization time delays from the $3s$ and $3p$ shells in Ar in the photon energy range of 32-42 eV. The experimental measurements are performed by interferometry using attosecond pulse trains and the infrared laser used for their generation. The theoretical approach includes intershell correlation effects between the 3s and 3p shells within the framework of the random phase approximation with exchange (RPAE). The connection between single-photon ionization and the two-color two-photon ionization process used in the measurement is established using the recently developed asymptotic approximation for the complex transition amplitudes of laser-assisted photoionization. We compare and discuss the theoretical and experimental results especially in the region where strong intershell correlations in the 3s to kp channel lead to an induced "Cooper" minimum in the 3s ionization cross-section.