Dynamics of proton migration and dissociation in core-excited ethyne probed by multiple ion momentum imaging

The study focuses on the rapid geometry change in ethyne, excited near the carbon 1s edge. Core excitation and ionization leads to population of dicationic states in ethyne. We study three competing dissociation pathways associated with deprotonation in the linear ethyne molecule, and two cases of rapid proton migration. We investigate the alignment of the molecule in the excited state, and find startling differences in these three cases. We present evidence for a strong anisotropy in the production of H+2 /C+2 fragments through a rapid deformation of the molecule to a dibridged conformation with the transition dipole moment parallel to the polarization of the exciting radiation.