Cooling Dynamics of Photoexcited C6 − and C6H−

• We report conclusive evidence of an efficient cooling mechanism via the electronic radiative transitions of hot small molecular anions isolated in vacuum. We stored C6− and C6H− in an ion storage ring and observed laser-induced electron detachment with delays up to several milliseconds. The terminal hydrogen atom caused a drastic change in the decay profiles. The decay of hotoexcited C6H− is slow and nonexponential, which can be explained by depletion cooling, whereas that for C6− occurs extremely fast, on a time scale below 0.1 ms and can only be explained by electronic radiative cooling via low-lying electronic excited states.

Ämnesord

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

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

Nyckelord

Carbon clusters

radiative cooling

Poincare radiation

inverse internal conversion

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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