Velocity imaging photoionization coincidence apparatus for the study of angular correlations between electrons and fragment ions

A new apparatus has been developed to detect and measure angular correlations between energy-selected photoelectrons and coincident mass-analyzed fragment ions from photoionization at selected wavelengths. It achieves velocity imaging for electrons and ions simultaneously and has high collection efficiency for both particles, with moderate mass and energy resolution. Angular and energy correlations between the two particles are measured, as are the angular distributions of each particle independently relative to the light polarization direction. Fixed-molecule electron angular distributions are deduced in cases of pure axial recoil. Examples of angular distributions from photoionization of diatomic molecules are reported. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)00703-6].