Quasi two-step dissociation effects observed in the core excited OCS molecule

Studies of the decay dynamics following carbon 1s and sulfur 2p electron excitations of the OCS molecule using the photoelectron–photoion–photoion coincidence method and a synchrotron radiation source are presented. A Monte Carlo code is utilized to interpret the data obtained, which together with previous measurements including branching ratios, kinetic energy distributions and ionic β-parameters give new information on the dynamics of three-body dissociation processes. The results indicate that the instantaneous and sequential dissociation models should be replaced by quasi two-step models.