Momentum-map-imaging photoelectron spectroscopy of fullerenes with femtosecond laser pulses

Photoelectron spectra of C-60 and C-70, ionized with ultrashort laser pulses, are measured with a momentum-map-imaging electron spectrometer. Above the photon energy, 1.6 eV, the spectra are essentially structureless and well described by Boltzmann distributions, with temperatures on the order of 10(4) K. This result is similar to previous results for C-60 using a time-of-flight electron spectrometer, which are confirmed in this study. Comparisons of electron energy distributions recorded for identical laser intensities but for different pulse durations demonstrate unambiguously that a significant fraction of the electrons are emitted in quasithermal processes and results argue strongly against a field ionization or direct multiphoton ionization mechanism. For electron energies above the photon energy, which account for about half the intensity, the whole signal is consistent with this quasithermal emission.