Ultrafast hydrogen scrambling in methylacetylene and methyl-d3-acetylene ions induced by intense laser fields.

Three-body Coulomb explosion processes of triply charged positive ions of methylacetylene (CH(3)-C≡C-H) and its isotopomer, methyl-d(3)-acetylene (CD(3)-C≡C-H), induced by an ultrashort intense laser field (790 nm, ∼40 fs, 5.0 × 10(13) W cm(-2)) are investigated by the coincidence momentum imaging method. Two types of three-body decomposition processes accompanying the ejection of a proton are identified for methylacetylene, and six types of three-body decomposition processes accompanying the ejection of a proton or a deuteron are identified for methyl-d(3)-acetylene. From the observed momentum vectors of all the three fragment ions for each decomposition pathway, the proton and deuteron distributions are constructed in the coordinate space, and the hydrogen migration processes are investigated. It was shown that the hydrogen migration proceeds more efficiently from the methyl group than from the methine group. In addition to the decomposition pathways accompanying the migration of one H (or D) atom, the decomposition pathways accompanying the migration of two light atoms (H/D exchange and 2D migration) are identified. Furthermore, the decomposition pathways ascribable to the migration of three light atoms (H/D exchange followed by D migration) are identified, showing the high intramolecular mobilities of H and D atoms within methylacetylene and methyl-d(3)-acetylene in an intense laser field, resulting in the H/D scrambling.