Short-time, excited-state dynamics of the lowest isomer of the Na3F cluster is studied theoretically in order to interpret the features of recent time-resolved pump-probe ionization experiments [J. M. L'Hermite, V. Blanchet, A. Le Padellec, B. Lamory, and P. Labastie, Eur. Phys. J. D 28, 361 (2004)]. In the present paper, we propose an identification of the vibrational motion responsible for the oscillations in the ion signal, on the basis of quantum mechanical wave packet propagations and classical trajectory calculations. The good agreement between experiment and theory allows for a clear interpretation of the detected dynamics. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.