MOLECULAR ION GEOMETRIES FROM INVERSION OF COULOMB EXPLOSION IMAGING DATA

The inversion of Coulomb explosion imaging (CEI) data is made possible by means of a scheme termed the modified backward integration (MBI) m ethod. This method allows one to analyze CEI data for a single Coulomb explosion event so as to infer the geometry of the relevant molecule or molecular ion. We outline the MBI scheme whose two key features are the use of a hyperspherical coordinate system and the change of the i ndependent variable from time to the hyper-radial coordinate. We also test the method on simulated ''experimental'' data for idealized model species of known geometry, and then apply it to CEI data actually mea sured.