Electronic states of the triply charged molecular ion N23+ and laser-induced Coulomb explosion

Potential-energy curves for the low-lying doubler and quartet stares of various symmetries (Pi(g) , Pi(u) , Sigma(g) , and Sigma(u),,) of the triply charged N-2(3+) molecular cation are studied using quantum ab initio methods. These states correlate asymptotically to the N2++N+ atomic fragments. No stable (bound) states are found to occur in the midst of many Coulomb repulsive potentials. The potentials are shown to follow a pure Coulomb repulsion law at R greater than or equal to 5 bohr. The most relevant configurations are enumerated for discussion of recent laser Coulomb explosion and imaging experiments. [S1050-2947(99)08506-6].