Ion-induced triple fragmentation of CO 2 3 + into C + + O + + O +

Dissociation of CO{sub 2}{sup 3+} formed in fast, heavy-ion-induced ionization of CO{sub 2}, using 5 MeV u{sup -1} Si{sup 12+} ions as projectiles, has been studied by the technique of multi-ion coincidence momentum imaging. From the momentum correlation between the ejected ions, we conclude that dissociation of CO{sub 2}{sup 3+} into C{sup +}+O{sup +}+O{sup +} is a concerted process involving linear and bent conformations of CO{sub 2}{sup 3+}. The kinetic-energy-release spectrum of the dissociation channel CO{sub 2}{sup 3+}{yields}C{sup +}+O{sup +}+O{sup +} is measured and the possible excited states of CO{sub 2}{sup 3+} are computed ab initio.