Hydrogen scrambling in ethane induced by intense laser fields: statistical analysis of coincidence events.

Reika Kanya, Tatsuya Kudou, Nora Schirmel, Shun Miura, Karl-Michael Weitzel, Kennosuke Hoshina, Kaoru Yamanouchi

Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.

The Journal of chemical physics 2012 May 28

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Two-body Coulomb explosion processes of ethane (CH(3)CH(3)) and its isotopomers (CD(3)CD(3) and CH(3)CD(3)) induced by an intense laser field (800 nm, 1.0 × 10(14) W/cm(2)) with three different pulse durations (40 fs, 80 fs, and 120 fs) are investigated by a coincidence momentum imaging method. On the basis of statistical treatment of the coincidence data, the contributions from false coincidence events are estimated and the relative yields of the decomposition pathways are determined with sufficiently small uncertainties. The branching ratios of the two body decomposition pathways of CH(3)CD(3) from which triatomic hydrogen molecular ions (H(3)(+), H(2)D(+), HD(2)(+), D(3)(+)) are ejected show that protons and deuterons within CH(3)CD(3) are scrambled almost statistically prior to the ejection of a triatomic hydrogen molecular ion. The branching ratios were estimated by statistical Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations by assuming a transition state with a hindered-rotation of a diatomic hydrogen moiety. The hydrogen scrambling dynamics followed by the two body decomposition processes are discussed also by using the anisotropies in the ejection directions of the fragment ions and the kinetic energy distribution of the two body decomposition pathways.

Citation

Reika Kanya, Tatsuya Kudou, Nora Schirmel, Shun Miura, Karl-Michael Weitzel, Kennosuke Hoshina, Kaoru Yamanouchi. Hydrogen scrambling in ethane induced by intense laser fields: statistical analysis of coincidence events. The Journal of chemical physics. 2012 May 28;136(20):204309