Article

Abstract

A variety of techniques have been applied to study the interaction of electrons with beams of CO2 molecules which are heavily clustered. Fragmentation of the clusters is monitored by detecting excited fragments directly or via the vacuum ultra-violet photons which they emit as they decay. The evidence obtained points to the conclusion that the excited molecules are essentially decoupled from the clusters during fragmentation. The shape of the excitation functions are indicative of the dominance of optically allowed processes in the initial interaction.PACS Nos.: 36.40+d and 34.80.GS