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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Photoelectron studies of neutral Ag3 in helium droplets
Andreas Przystawik1, Paul Radcliffe, Thomas Diederich
1Institut für Physik, Universität Rostock, 18051 Rostock, Germany.
Abstract:
Photoelectron spectra of neutral silver trimers, grown in ultracold helium nanodroplets, are recorded after ionization with laser pulses via a strong optical resonance of this species. Varying the photon energy reveals that direct vertical two-photon ionization is hindered by a rapid relaxation into the lower edge of a long-living excited state manifold. An analysis of the ionization threshold of the embedded trimer yields an ionization potential of 5.74+/-0.09 eV consistent with the value found in the gas phase. The asymmetrical form of the electron energy spectrum, which is broadened toward lower kinetic energies, is attributed to the influence of the matrix on the photoionization process. The lifetime of the excited state was measured in a two-color pump-probe experiment to be 5.7+/-0.6 ns.
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