The photodissociation dynamics of Au2 at 157 nm have been studied by velocity map imaging. Fragmentation into seven of the nine energetically accessible channels has been observed with a high propensity for the formation of electronically excited fragment atoms. Fragmentation channels are assigned using total energy conservation and confirmed in two-colour experiments in which photolysis is followed by quantum state-selective resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization. The combination of one-and two-colour experiments permits the determination of relative branching ratios at 157 nm for product channels correlating to Au 5d96s2(2D3/2) and Au 5d96s2(2D5/2) atomic fragments. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
