Fragmentation of Ar3+ clusters via vibrational predissociation

The three-dimensional potential energy surface of the ground electronic state of the Ar3+ cluster is computed within a density functional framework and employed in a dynamical study of the vibrational predissociation channel as a possible fragmentation pathway for the complex. A remarkable tendency for the vibrational predissociation process to slow down as J increases from 0 to 2 is clearly shown by our calculations, in agreement with previous studies that stressed the role played by the overall rotational temperature of the various clusters in causing an unusually large range of lifetimes in such resonant break-up processes.