Slow electron attachment as a probe of cluster evaporation processes

• Neutral alkali clusters efficiently capture low-energy electrons with the aid of long-range polarization attraction. Upon attachment, the electron energy is dissipated into vibrations, heating the cluster and triggering evaporation of atoms and dimers. This process offers a novel means to explore nanocluster bonding and evaporation kinetics. The present work investigates the formation of . A crossed-beam experiment reveals that relative anion abundances become strongly and nontrivially restructured with respect to the neutral precursor beam. This restructuring is explained in quantitative detail by an analysis of evaporative cascades initiated by the attachment. The analysis thus furnishes a complete description of the electron attachment process, from initial attraction to final rearrangement of the cluster population. In addition, the paper describes a reconstruction of neutral cluster population in the supersonic beam, a new relation between the dissociation energies of cationic, neutral and anionic metal clusters, and a systematic derivation of cluster evaporation kinetics and internal temperature distributions.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Atom- och molekylfysik och optik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

alkali metal clusters

electron attachment

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