Strong anisotropy in the proton emission following fragmentation of H2O molecules by impact with slow, highly charged Xenon ions

We measured the energy and angular distribution of ionic fragments produced by the interaction of 1-220 keV Xe22+ ions with water molecules. The measured distributions strongly depend on the projectile charge state and energy, as seen from the comparison of the results with previously published data for 5 keV He2+, and 2 and 90 keV Ne(3-9)+ ions. A significant forward-backward asymmetry of the energy and intensity of the H+ fragments is observed. The interpretation of the experimental results is guided by means of classical trajectory simulations based on a Coulomb explosion model. The experimental finding of a strong enhancement of the H+ yield at 90 degrees is attributed to an alignment of the molecular axis during the collision and the momentum transfer from the slow projectile.