METASTABLE DECAY OF RARE-GAS CLUSTER IONS - THE (AR3)+ SYSTEM

The decay of (Ar3+) --> Ar2+ + Ar is studied from a dynamical viewpoi nt by employing an effective, spherical interaction and constructing t he complete set of bound and metastable wavefunctions for the full ran ge of rotational states of the triatomic complex. In agreement with th e experimental findings, the present calculations show that the effect of populating the high rotational states of the overall cluster gives rise to a wealth of new resonances (predissociative tunnelling) and c an cover a very broad range of metastable dissociation rates, with lif etimes ranging from 10(-11) s to 10 s. Such a dynamical mechanism coul d therefore provide a simple explanation for the observed behaviour of rare gas cluster ions and could indicate further ways of improving th e modelling of such processes.