Control of nuclear motion in the B 2b2 ionic state of water via an Auger resonant Raman process

Resonant Auger spectra of H2O are recorded with unprecedented resolution, for excitation energies tuned across the O 1s→2b2 resonance. Electron emission spectra for decay to the 1b2-1 final state show a partially resolved vibrational envelope whose overall appearance is photon energy dependent. Comparison with ab initio calculations indicates that the two-dimensional nuclear motion of the Auger final state can be controlled by sampling different portions of the potential curve and changing the nuclear motion in the core-excited state.