title: Profound isotope effect in dissociation of triatomic hydrogen.
abstract: Three-particle dissociation of high-lying Rydberg states of D3 is induced by an external electric field. We observe that the momentum vector correlation map of the center-of-mass motion of the fragments converges near the ionization threshold to two distinct fragment configurations, the near linear geometry and the symmetric acute angle geometry. A comparison is made with the momentum vector correlation map recorded in dissociative recombination of D3(+) with slow electrons and with the corresponding results for H3 where the acute angle geometry is conspicuously absent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Optical Physics, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität , Hermann-Herder-Strasse 3, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Fechner
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mozer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helm