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

The recoil velocity distribution of O(1D2) 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(1D2) atoms are aligned in the molecular frame.