Abstract
We measured the OH(A 2Σ+ → X 2Πi) fluorescence polarisation in the vibrational 0—0 band system after dissociative excitation of water by electron impact for energies from 11.9 eV up to 500 eV using a setup of crossed electron and H2O beams. The measured polarisations as a function of the electron energy take a course from being mainly unpolarised in the high energy region to negative polarisation values when the energy of the impinging electrons approaches threshold. Quantitatively we find −5.2 ± 1.1% at 11.9 eV. A tentative explanation of our results is made and it appears that the measurement of the OH fluorescence polarisation being equivalent to an anisotropic angular distribution of the emitted photons is a sensitive probe of studying the electron impact induced dissociation mechanism of the water molecule.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 31-38 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Chemical Physics |
Volume | 53 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1980 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry