A study of selected fragmentation paths of the ethyne dication: theory and experiment

Abstract

The fragmentation of the C₂H₂²⁺ dication, formed upon inner shell ionization and the subsequent Auger decay, has been studied by means of Auger electron–ion and Auger electron–ion–ion coincidence spectroscopy at four different kinetic energies of the Auger electron. The experimental investigation of three fragmentation paths leading to the C₂H⁺/H⁺, C₂⁺/H⁺ and C⁺/H⁺ pairs has been complemented by theoretical calculations of the Potential Energy Surfaces (PES). It is found that when the amount of internal energy of the dication increases this is mainly transferred into the kinetic energy of the fragments of the second step of the dissociation.