DISSOCIATIVE IONIZATION OF N2 AND CO USING INTENSE LASERS AT 248 AND 305 NM

Analysis of conventional ion time-of-flight spectra of N2 and CO at laser wavelengths of 248 and 305 nm suggests that fragmentation is predominantly charge-asymmetric. In a recent publication we describe the use of covariance mapping to prove that charge-symmetric fragmentation is, in fact, the dominant mechanism at 305 nm. This present contribution shows that the same is true at 248 nm. Moreover, the dissociation energies associated with specific fragmentation channels are the same, within experimental error, for both molecules and at both wavelengths.