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Abstract:
The ultrafast structural dynamics of water following inner-shell
ionization is a crucial issue in high-energy radiation chemistry. We
have exposed isolated water molecules to a short x-ray pulse from a
free-electron laser and detected momenta of all produced ions in
coincidence. By combining experimental results and theoretical modeling,
we can image dissociation dynamics of individual molecules in
unprecedented detail. We reveal significant molecular structural
dynamics in H2O2+, such as asymmetric deformation and bond-angle
opening, leading to two-body or three-body fragmentation on a timescale
of a few femtoseconds. We thus reconstruct several snapshots of
structural dynamics at different time intervals, which highlight
dynamical patterns that are relevant as initiating steps of subsequent
radiation-damage processes.
