We present theoretical results on the triple ionization of carbon monoxide providing new insights for the understanding of the available experimental data on the triple ionization cross section and the fragmentation patterns of trications. A large number of electronic states are shown to contribute. These are computed by a newly implemented Green's function approach for the efficient ab initio calculation of very many triply ionized states needed in the theoretical investigations of molecular multiple ionization processes.

• Received 13 July 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.896