Evidence for multiple dissociation components and orbital alignment in 205 nm photodissociation of N2O

The recoil velocity distribution of O(D-1(2)) atoms produced by 205 nm photodissociation of N2O has been measured by a two-dimensional (2D) ion imaging method. The distribution consists of at least two components, suggesting that there are overlapping electronic transitions and/or non-adiabatic transitions that lead to different dissociation pathways. The angular distribution also suggests that electronic orbitals of O(D-1(2)) atoms are aligned in the molecular frame.