Strong-field dissociation of CS$^{2+}$ via a pump/dump-like mechanism
ORAL
Abstract
Laser-induced dissociation of the quasi-bound electronic ground state of CS$^{2+}$ is investigated in intense laser pulses ($<$55 fs, $<$10$^{16}$ W/cm$^2$). Photodissociation is observed to be the dominant dissociation pathway; however, a more curious feature in the kinetic energy release spectrum suggests no significant energy gain from the initial states. We propose a pump/dump-like mechanism to explain this observed feature. Contrary to the conventional pump/dump control scheme, this process occurs within a single laser pulse, where the time delay is caused by the molecular structure. The process begins when the vibrational wavepacket in the electronic ground state of CS$^{2+}$ is pumped into the electronic first excited state's continuum by a single photon. After a period of stretching at an energy above the potential barrier, the emission of a second photon is stimulated by the same laser pulse, most likely at the Condon point.
*Supported by the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, Grants DE-FG02-86ER13491 and DE-FG02-09ER16115. TU supported by GACR and MetaCentrum.
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Authors
Travis Severt
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University
J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 USA
J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Physics Dept., Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
M. Zohrabi
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
K.J. Betsch
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
U. Ablikim
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Bethany Jochim
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
K.D. Carnes
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
S. Zeng
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
B.D. Esry
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
I. Ben-Itzhak
J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
T. Uhl\'{I}kov\'{a}
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague Technick\'{a}, Czech Republic
