Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Rörig, Aljoscha

Publications and source records attributed to Rörig, Aljoscha.

Characterizing the multi-dimensional reaction dynamics of dihalomethanes using XUV-induced Coulomb explosion imaging

Site-selective probing of iodine 4d orbitals at 13.1 nm was used to characterize the photolysis of CH 2 I 2 and CH 2 BrI initiated at 202.5 nm. Time-dependent fragment ion momenta were recorded using Coulomb explosion imaging mass spectrometry and used to determine the structural dynamics of the dissociating molecules. Correlations between these fragment momenta, as well as the onset times of electron transfer reactions between them, indicate that each molecule can undergo neutral three-body photolysis. For CH 2 I 2 , the structural evolution of the neutral molecule was simultaneously characterized along the C–I and I–C–I coordinates, demonstrating the sensitivity of these measurements to nuclear motion along multiple degrees of freedom.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Multiple-core-hole resonance spectroscopy with ultraintense X-ray pulses

Understanding the interaction of intense, femtosecond X-ray pulses with heavy atoms is crucial for gaining insights into the structure and dynamics of matter. One key aspect of nonlinear light–matter interaction was, so far, not studied systematically at free-electron lasers—its dependence on the photon energy. Here, we use resonant ion spectroscopy to map out the transient electronic structures occurring during the complex charge-up pathways of xenon. Massively hollow atoms featuring up to six simultaneous core holes determine the spectra at specific photon energies and charge states. We also illustrate how different X-ray pulse parameters, which are usually intertwined, can be partially disentangled. The extraction of resonance spectra is facilitated by the possibility of working with a constant number of photons per X-ray pulse at all photon energies and the fact that the ion yields become independent of the peak fluence beyond a saturation point. Our study lays the groundwork for spectroscopic investigations of transient atomic species in exotic, multiple-core-hole states that have not been explored previously.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Time-resolved site-selective imaging of predissociation and charge transfer dynamics: the CH 3 I B-band

The predissociation dynamics of the 6s (B 2 E) Rydberg state of gas-phase CH 3 I were investigated by time-resolved Coulomb-explosion imaging using extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser pulses. Inner-shell ionization at the iodine 4d edge was utilized to provide a site-specific probe of the ensuing dynamics. The combination of a velocity-map imaging (VMI) spectrometer coupled with the pixel imaging mass spectrometry (PImMS) camera permitted three-dimensional ionic fragment momenta to be recorded simultaneously for a wide range of iodine charge states. In accord with previous studies, initial excitation at 201.2 nm results in internal conversion and subsequent dissociation on the lower-lying A-state surface on a picosecond time scale. Examination of the time-dependent yield of low kinetic energy iodine fragments yields mechanistic insights into the predissociation and subsequent charge transfer following multiple ionization of the iodine products. The effect of charge transfer was observed through differing delay-dependencies of the various iodine charge states, from which critical internuclear distances for charge transfer could be inferred and compared to a classical over-the-barrier model. Time-dependent photofragment angular anisotropy parameters were extracted from the central slice of the Newton sphere, without Abel inversion, and highlight the effect of rotation of the parent molecule before dissociation, as observed in previous works. Our results demonstrate the ability to perform three-dimensional ion imaging at high event rates and showcase the potential benefits of this approach, particularly in relation to further time-resolved studies at free-electron laser facilities.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗