Excited neutral atomic fragments in the strong-field dissociation of N2 molecules

Excited neutral N* fragments with energies between 3 eV and 15 eV have been observed from the dissociation of N-2 molecules in strong laser fields. The kinetic energy spectrum of the excited neutral atoms corresponds to Coulomb explosion processes involving N+ ions. This supports the assumption that the production of excited neutral fragments stems from a process in which one of the participating ions in the Coulomb explosion captures an electron into a Rydberg state.