Multiply Charged Neon Clusters: Failure of the Liquid Drop Model?

I Mähr, F. Zappa, S. Denifl, D. Kubala, O. Echt, T. D. Märk, and P. Scheier

Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 023401 – Published 8 January 2007

Abstract

We have analyzed the stability and fission dynamics of multiply charged neon cluster ions. The critical sizes for the observation of long-lived ions are $n_{2} = 284$ and $n_{3} = 656$ for charge states 2 and 3, respectively, a factor 3 to 4 below the predictions of a previously successful liquid-drop model. The preferred fragment ions of fission reactions are surprisingly small ( $2 \leq n \leq 5$ ); their kinetic energy distributions peak at 200 meV or below. The size of these fragments and their average kinetic energies are much less than predicted by the liquid-drop model.

Received 26 June 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.023401

Authors & Affiliations

I Mähr, F. Zappa, S. Denifl, D. Kubala, O. Echt^*, T. D. Märk^†, and P. Scheier^‡

Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Leopold Franzens Universität, Technikerstrasse 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

^*Permanent address: Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
^†Also at: Department of Plasma Physics, Comenius University, SK-84248 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
^‡Corresponding author. Electronic address: Paul.Scheier@uibk.ac.at

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Vol. 98, Iss. 2 — 12 January 2007

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