Photodissociation of dicarbon: How nature breaks an unusual multiple bond
Jasmin Borsovszky, Klaas Nauta, Jun Jiang, Christopher S. Hansen, L. K. McKemmish, Robert W. Field, John F. Stanton, Scott H. Kable, Timothy W. Schmidt
Abstract
Significance It has long been observed that the coma of a comet is often green while its tail is not. While the explanation for this must be that the molecules responsible for the green emission, C 2 , are photodissociated, the mechanism was, until now, unknown. We have observed the photodissociation of C 2 in the laboratory for the first time and, in doing so, have determined its bond dissociation energy with unprecedented precision. Invoking the observed mechanism, the calculated lifetime of cometary C 2 is found to be consistent with astronomical observations.
Topics & Concepts
PhotodissociationDissociation (chemistry)Bond-dissociation energyMoleculePhysicsAtomic physicsPhotonPhotochemistryBond energyInterstellar mediumChemistryAstrophysicsOpticsPhysical chemistryQuantum mechanicsGalaxyAdvanced Chemical Physics StudiesMass Spectrometry Techniques and ApplicationsAtomic and Molecular Physics