Interaction of argon clusters with intense VUV-laser radiation: the role of electronic structure in the energy-deposition process

The response of Ar clusters to intense vacuum-ultraviolet pulses is investigated with photoion spec-troscopy. By varying the laser wavelength, the initial excitation was either tuned to absorption bands of surface or bulk atoms of clusters. Multiple ionization is observed, which leads to Coulomb explosion. The efficiency of resonant 2-photon ionization for initial bulk and surface excitation is compared with that of the nonresonant process at different laser intensities. The specific electronic structure of clusters plays almost no role in the explosion dynamics at a peak intensity larger than 1.8 x 10(12) W/cm(2). The inner ionization of atoms for resonant and nonresonant excitation is then saturated and the energy deposition is mainly controlled by the plasma heating rate. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that standard collisional heating cannot fully account for the strong energy absorption.