Fast ion-induced CO molecule fragmentation in the strong interaction regime

A coincident time of Eight technique is used to investigate fast ion-induced CO molecule fragmentation with swift (6.7 MeV u(-1)) and multicharged (Xe44+) heavy ions. The results concern the strong interaction regime for which no data have yet been reported. Kinetic energy release distributions, branching ratios and multi-electron removal cross sections are determined for each dissociation channel of COQ+ ions (Q = 2-9). The general trend, from the perturbative regime to the strong interaction regime, is analysed in the light of recent ion-atom advances. The use of recoil ion momentum spectroscopy to study one dissociative single ionization channel-with simultaneous excitation-greatly improves the experimental KER resolution. Furthermore, it allows a coincident measurement of the angular and kinetic energy release distributions. This technique is proved promising for molecular spectroscopy studies.