Anna Sankari

Role of the Renner-Teller effect after core hole excitation in the dissociation dynamics of carbon dioxide dication.

The fragmentation of the doubly-charged carbon dioxide molecule is studied after photoexcitation to the C 1s(1)2π(u) and O 1s(1)2π(u) states using a multicoincidence ion-imaging technique. The bent component of the Renner-Teller split states populated in the 1s→ π* resonant excitation at both the carbon and oxygen 1s ionization edges opens pathways to potential surfaces in highly bent geometries in the dication. Evidence for a complete deformation of the molecule is found in the coincident detection of C(+) and O(2)(+) ions. The distinct alignment of this fragmentation channel indicates rapid deformation and subsequent fragmentation. Investigation of the complete atomization dynamics in the dication leading to asymmetric charge separation shows that the primary dissociation mechanisms, sequential, concerted, and asynchronous concerted, are correlated to specific fragment kinetic energies. The study shows that the bond angle in fragmentation can extend below 20°.

Rapid bond rearrangement in core-excited molecular water

The angular anisotropy of fragments created in the dissociation of core-electron excited water molecules is studied to probe the correlation between fragmentation channels, kinematics and molecular geometry. We present fragment kinetic measurements for water molecules where the inner-shell oxygen electron is excited to the unoccupied 4a1 and 2b2 valence molecular orbitals. The kinematics of individual fragmentation channels are measured using fully three-dimensional momentum imaging of fragments. The results show that the geometry of the molecule and the kinetic energy of fragments are strongly coupled in the atomisation process. In addition we identify a fragmentation process arising from bond rearrangement evidenced by the H2(+)-O(+) ion pair which is accessible for resonant excitation of the 1s electron. In all of the two-body fragmentation processes the dissociation takes place along the potential-energy surface, while atomisation reveals both dissociation along the potential surface and Coulomb explosion. The angular distribution of fragments suggests that the bond rearrangement is very rapid; likely on a sub 10 fs time scale.

Field ionization of high-Rydberg fragments produced after inner-shell photoexcitation and photoionization of the methane molecule.

We have studied the production of neutral high-Rydberg (HR) fragments from the CH4 molecule at the C 1s → 3p excitation and at the C 1s ionization threshold. Neutral fragments in HR states were ionized using a pulsed electric field and the resulting ions were mass-analyzed using an ion time-of-flight spectrometer. The atomic fragments C(HR) and H(HR) dominated the spectra, but molecular fragments CH(x)(HR), x = 1-3, and H2(HR) were also observed. The production of HR fragments is attributed to dissociation of CH4(+) and CH4(2+) ions in HR states. Just above the C 1s ionization threshold, such molecular ionic states are created when the C 1s photoelectron is recaptured after single or double Auger decay. Similar HR states may be reached directly following resonant Auger decay at the C 1s → 3p resonance. The energies and geometries of the parent and fragment ions have been calculated in order to gain insight into relevant dissociation pathways.

Molecular dynamics of NH3 induced by core-electron excitation

Nuclear motion in the N1s(-1)4a core-excited state of ammonia is investigated by studying the angular anisotropy of fragments produced in the decay of the highly excited molecule and compared with predictions from ab initio calculations. Two different fragmentation channels (H(+)/NH2(+) and H(+)/NH(+)/H) reveal complex nuclear dynamics as the excitation photon energy is tuned through the 4a1 resonance. The well-defined angular anisotropy of the fragments produced in the dissociation of the molecular dication species suggests a very rapid nuclear motion and the time scale of the nuclear dynamics is limited to the low fs timescale.

Rapid bond rearrangement in molecules after core-electron excitation

Experimental studies of core-excited molecules using three-dimensional multi particle momentum imaging are presented where bond rearrangement processes in dication species are analysed. The aim of the study is to understand the relation between the geometric changes associated with core-excited states and the kinetic energy released in particular molecular dissociation processes. The kinematics of individual fragmentation channels are studied by fully three-dimensional momentum imaging of fragments in coincidence. Examples are presented where the high efficiency of the instrument and the fully three-dimensional momentum capabilities are exploited to understand nuclear motion leading to bond rearrangement in core-excited states. We identify bond-rearrangement processes in water, carbonyl sulphide and acetylene which are initiated in the core-excited state. In water this is evidenced by the H-2(+)/O+ ion pair, and in carbonyl sulphide the OS++C+ pair is the fingerprint of this reaction. In acetylene the H-2(+) + C-2(+) ion pair indicates a molecular geometry that changes from linear to strongly bent. We measure the angular distribution of all fragments and fragment pairs and for the bond rearrangement processes in water and in core-excited acetylene the angular distribution of fragments suggests that the bond rearrangement is very rapid. (Less)

Synchrotron excitation - field ionization studies of high-Rydberg fragments produced after inner-shell ionization of small molecules

We have studied the production of neutral high-Rydberg (HR) fragments in small molecules after inner-shell excitation and ionization. Such fragments were ionized using a pulsed electric field and resulting ions were mass-analyzed with an ion time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometer. As an example, the results obtained at the C 1s ionization threshold of the methane molecule will be discussed.

Dynamics of dissociation in inner-valence excited 1,3-trans-Butadiene probed by 3-D multiple ion momentum imaging

The study focuses on rapid nuclear rearrangement/isomerization taking place in an early stage of butadiene fragmentation using multiple ion momentum imaging spectroscopy and tunable synchrotron radiation. In addition, ab initio calculations are performed to disentangle the nuclear dynamics preceding dissociation.

Charge migration and decay of doubly charged ammonia clusters

The photo-fragmentation of ammonia molecular clusters ionized with soft x-rays is studied for photon energies near the N-1s threshold. The fragmentation is studied with a 3D momentum mass spectrometer to access the energy and angular correlations between fragments. By choosing the cluster sizes below or above the critical size of stable dication, we investigate the coulomb explosion dynamics and the interplay between charge delocalization and mobility of molecules in the clusters.