Angular variation of time-of-flight of neutral clusters released from Rydberg Matter: Primary and secondary Coulomb explosion processes

Laser induced Coulomb explosions give precise information on the masses of the clusters released in the quantised kinetic energy release (KER) in an electronically excited phase Rydberg Matter (RM). A model is given that describes the non-trivial variations of time-of-flight (TOF) with detector angle as due to the spatial origin of the clusters. Three types of TOF peaks are identified: from the laser waist, from the region along the laser beam and from the edge of the blow-out cone at which a shock wave is initiated. Cluster masses and KER energies can be accurately assigned using this model. RM clusters (H2)14∗ and KN∗(N=1,2,4,7) are confirmed, and a new cluster H7∗ is identified. At low laser levels, large fluctuations in signal intensities from the laser waist are observed, proving that the phase sampled is not gaseous but fractal in nature.