Theoretical analysis of femtosecond excitation and fragmentation dynamics of Fe(CO)5

We present the application of a time-dependent model to Fe(CO)5 dissociation after femtosecond excitation to understand transient signals obtained in recent pump/probe experiments. The calculation of time-dependent energy distributions allows us to interpret the decay behaviour of the various fragments. The results indicate that at least two dissociation pathways have to be considered to explain the transient signals obtained for the different fragments. Furthermore, it is shown that, within each of the pathways discussed, concerted and sequential fragmentation compete.