Angular and energy distributions of fragment ions in dissociative double photoionization of acetylene molecules in the 31.9-50.0 eV photon energy range

Abstract

The two-body dissociation reactions of the dication C2H2+2, initiated via double ionization of acetylene molecules by photons in the energy range 31.9-50.0 eV, have been studied by coupling photoelectron-photoion-photoion coincidence and ion imaging techniques. The angular distributions and kinetic energy of product ions, measured in the 31.9-50.0 eV energy range, exhibit significant differences for the three leading dissociation reactions with respect to a previous investigation carried out at a fixed energy of 39.0 eV, providing thus new information on the dynamical evolution of the system. The analysis of the results indicates that such dissociation reactions occur with a different mechanism. In particular, the symmetric dissociation in two CH+ ions is characterized by different dynamics, and the anisotropy of the angular distribution of ionic products increases with photon energy in a more pronounced way than the other two reactions. Moreover, the kinetic energy distribution of the symmetric dissociation reaction exhibits several components that change with photon energy. The new experimental findings cast light on the microscopic evolution of the system and can provide a laboratory reference for new theoretical calculations on specific features of the multidimensional potential energy surface, namely, the structure, energy and symmetry of dication states, the electronic state of dissociation products, energy barriers and their dependence on the geometry of the intermediate state.