Photofragmentation of ionic carbon monoxide

Using the merged-beams technique, O⁺ photofragment yield spectra from photofragmentation of CO⁺ were measured at photon energies ranging from 20.5 to 34.5 eV. Resonant structures are identified as members of Rydberg series belonging to electronic core excited states of the C⁺ + O⁺ fragmentation channel. Additional structures originating from initial vibrational excitations of the CO⁺ beam have also been identified. Lower-bound values for the CO⁺ photofragmentation cross sections are estimated based on trajectory simulations for the apparatus and on known photofragment angular distributions.