Femtosecond dynamics of linear Ag-3

A femtosecond negative ion-neutral-positive ion charge reversal apparatus has been developed, following the concept of Woste and Berry, to carry out spectroscopy of transient neutral species along the reaction coordinate. We report studies of the ultrafast dynamics of linear Ags produced by photodetachment of linear Ag-3(-). The background-free time-resolved multiphoton ionization spectra of Ag-3 taken at various wavelengths show a strong probe time and wavelength dependence, indicating important roles both of an intermediate state resonance and the ionization detection window in the time-resolved ionization signal. Based on these results, we speculate on the wavepacket dynamics along the coordinate of the linear-to-triangular rearrangement on the ground state potential energy surface.