Excited neutral atomic fragments in the strong-field dissociation of N2 molecules

Excited neutral N* fragments with energies between 3 eV and 15 eV have been observed from the dissociation of N2 molecules in strong laser fields. The kinetic energy spectrum of the excited neutral atoms corresponds to Coulomb explosion processes involving N+ ions. This supports the assumption that the production of excited neutral fragments stems from a process in which one of the participating ions in the Coulomb explosion captures an electron into a Rydberg state.