VUV fluorescence following electron-impact dissociative excitation of CS2

Electron-impact dissociation of CS2 has been studied by observation of the atomic spectral emission features in the range 115-170 nm. Absolute photoemission cross sections are presented over the complete wavelength range for an incident electron energy of 100 eV. As an example, the measured cross section of the strong C I emission at 165.7 nm, which is a prominent feature in many solar and other extraterrestrial spectra, is (1.45 +/- 0.19) x 10(-18) cm(2). Comparison with earlier cross-sectional measurements suggest that these were too high by a factor of more than three. Excitation functions of the dominant C I (156.1 nm) and S I (147.4 nm) emission lines have been measured for electron-impact energies from threshold to 360 eV. From appearance energy measurements in the near-threshold region, likely fragmentation channels are identified which involve both two-fragment breakup and total fragmentation of the parent CS2.