The vibrational structure of the O 1s Ϫ1 2b 2 core-excited state of H 2 O is observed and ascribed to the mixture of symmetric stretching and bending motions with a 1 symmetry. The formation of H 2 ϩ is found to increase linearly with an increase in energy stored in the nuclear motion of the O 1s Ϫ1 2b 2 state, demonstrating that this dissociation channel is mediated by the nuclear motion in the core-excited state. The reaction pathway to the H 2 ϩ formation along the Auger final state of H 2 O ϩ , mediated by the nuclear motion before the Auger decay, is discussed with the help of ab initio potential surfaces of the Auger final states.
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