Electron localization in dissociating H₂+ by retroaction of a photoelectron onto its source

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We investigate the dissociation of H₂+ into a proton and a H⁰ after single ionization with photons of an energy close to the threshold. We find that the p+ and the H⁰ do not emerge symmetrically in case of the H₂+ dissociating along the 1sσg ground state. Instead, a preference for the ejection of the p+ in the direction of the escaping photoelectron can be observed. This symmetry breaking is strongest for very small electron energies. Our experiment is consistent with a recent prediction by Serov and Kheifets [Phys. Rev. A 89, 031402 (2014)]. In their model, which treats the photoelectron classically, the symmetry breaking is induced by the retroaction of the long range Coulomb potential onto the dissociating H₂+.