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The branching ratios of the dissociative recombination of excited H2O+ ions with electrons were studied using a plasma flow tube experiment. The total oxygen atom channel accounts for 45% of the recombination with more than 24% in O+H+H. The remaining channel is OH+H for 55%. These results are discussed in comparison with the few available theories and with photodissociation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yield of metastable oxygen atoms through dissociative recombination of O+2 ions with electrons has been studied using a plasma flow tube experiment. For O+2 with high vibrational excitation (around v=9) it was found that half of the oxygen atoms are formed on the O(1D) state and that the branching ratio toward O(1S) is large (∼0.4). Using Xe+ instead of Ar+ as precursor ions, it was shown that the O(1S) yield is much less for ions with low vibrational excitation. However, the present experimental results are not compatible with the extremely low theoretical value of this yield which was reported recently for O+2 (v=0). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron–lattice energy exchange is investigated in an ensemble of silver nanoparticles of mean diameter 9 nm and in a single 30-nm particle using a femtosecond pump–probe technique. The dependences of the measured transient transmission change and of the electron energy loss kinetics on the excitation amplitude are compared to the results of numerical simulations of nonequilibrium electron relaxation and of the two-temperature model. The good agreement between the theoretical and experimental data indicates that, for the studied low particle density samples, hot-electron cooling is dominated by electron–lattice coupling in a nanoparticle both for weak and large electron heating with a minor influence of their surrounding environment (glass or polymer matrix). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of confinement on the electron-electron (e-e) and electron-phonon (e-ph) thermalization dynamics in noble metal clusters are calculated using simple approaches. The model predictions are compared with femtosecond pump-probe measurements which display an acceleration of the e-e and e-ph relaxation dynamics. The size-effects on the e-e relaxation dynamics are consistent with a model involving the surface-induced reduction of the screening efficiency of the Coulomb e-e interaction. With regard to the e-ph relaxation dynamics, this model yields too large time constants, pointing out deficiencies of the standard modelling of the e-ph energy exchanges in bulk metals. Analysis of these deficiencies shows that the bare e-ion interaction has to be involved in the transition matrix element describing the non-adiabatic e-ph energy exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical origin and the dynamics of the ultrafast optical nonlinear response of noble metal nanoparticles are analyzed around the surface plasmon resonance frequency using extension of the bulk metal electron kinetics and band structure models. The computed spectral and temporal responses are found to be in very good agreement with the measured ones in silver when taking into account the impact of electron excitation on both the interband absorption and electron optical scattering rate. A good reproduction of the strong excitation regime experimental results is also obtained in the case of gold, with a dominant contribution of the interband effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Ultrafast modifications of the electron scattering rate due to selective heating of the free electron gas are investigated in silver nanoparticles embedded in a glass matrix. Measurements were performed using a two-color femtosecond pump-probe technique and probing the induced changes of the surface plasmon resonance width. The results show that ultrafast heating of the electron gas leads to a large transient increase of the probability of electron scattering off the nanoparticle surfaces, in agreement with a theoretical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]