Dissociative excitation and fragmentation of S8 by electron impact

The vacuum-ultraviolet emission spectrum from 136 nm to 168 nm following the dissociative excitation of a predominantly S(8) target by electron impact at 100 eV incident energy was measured. The relative cross sections for the dominant multiplets at 138.9, 142.9, 147.9, and 166.7 nm are presented. Excitation functions are shown for electron-impact energies from below threshold to 360 eV for the two most prominent emissions at 142.5 nm and 147.4 nm. Five thresholds are clearly apparent in both excitation functions. For the four highest energy channels, the energy separation between the adjacent thresholds is approximately constant and the cross sections reduce regularly as the threshold energies increase. We suggest possible fragmentation pathways of the dissociating S(8) molecule that reproduce the energies of our observed thresholds.