Orientation dependence in multichannel dissociative ionization of OCS molecules

Abstract

With 800-nm, 25-fs elliptically polarized ionization pulses, we observe molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions (MF-PADs) correlated with different dissociative ionization channels: ${\mathrm{OCS}}^{+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\mathrm{S}}^{+}$+CO, ${\mathrm{CO}}^{+}$+S, ${\mathrm{CS}}^{+}$+O, and ${\mathrm{O}}^{+}$+CS. We find that the asymmetry in the MF-PAD depends on the specific dissociation channel and the laser intensities. For the dissociation channel leading to the production of ${\mathrm{O}}^{+}$, the OCS molecules are more likely to be ionized when the electric field points toward the O atom, while for other dissociation channels, they are more likely to be ionized when the electric field points toward the S atom.