We probe dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to methyl iodide, ${\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{I}$, using the velocity-map imaging (VMI) technique. Our DEA-VMI spectrometer allows for preparation of the incident electron beam at electron energies low enough to record the images of the exothermic ${\mathrm{I}}^{-}$ production channel. A clear forward-backward asymmetry visible in the angular distributions is attributed to contributions of different partial waves which are controlled by partial widths of the involved resonant state. This coupling of partial waves is facilitated primarily by the dipolar field of the target molecule.

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• Atomic & molecular collisions