Heavy N$^+$ ion transfer in doubly charged N$_2$Ar van der Waals cluster
Résumé
Van der Waals clusters are weakly bound atomic/molecular systems and are an important medium for understanding micro-environmental chemical phenomena in bio-systems. The presence of neighboring atoms may open channels otherwise forbidden in isolated atoms/molecules. In hydrogen-bond clusters, proton transfer plays a crucial role, which involves mass and charge migration over large distances within the cluster and results in its fragmentation. Here we report an exotic transfer channel involving a heavy N$^+$ ion observed in a doubly charged cluster produced by 1 MeV Ne$^{8+}$ ions: (N$_2$Ar)$^{2+}$ →N$^+$+NAr$^+$ . The neighboring Ar atom decreases the ${\mathrm{N}}_2^{2+}$ barrier height and width, resulting in significant shorter lifetimes of the metastable molecular ion state ${\mathrm{N}}_2^{2+}$($X^1$$\Sigma^+_g$ Consequently, the breakup of the covalent N$^+−$N$^+$ bond, the tunneling out of the N$^+$ ion from the ${\mathrm{N}}_2^{2+}$ potential well, as well as the formation of an N−Ar$^+$ bound system take place almost simultaneously, resulting in a Coulomb explosion of N$^+$ and NAr$^+$ ion pairs.
Domaines
Physique Atomique [physics.atom-ph]| Origine | Publication financée par une institution |
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