Rydberg-state-resolved zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectroscopy

Time-resolved photoelectron imaging of complex resonances in molecular nitrogen

We have used the FERMI free-electron laser to perform time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiments on a complex group of resonances near 15.38 eV in the absorption spectrum of molecular nitrogen, N₂, under jet-cooled conditions. The new data complement and extend the earlier work of Fushitani et al. [Opt. Express 27, 19702-19711 (2019)], who recorded time-resolved photoelectron spectra for this same group of resonances. Time-dependent oscillations are observed in both the photoelectron yields and the photoelectron angular distributions, providing insight into the interactions among the resonant intermediate states. In addition, for most states, we observe an exponential decay of the photoelectron yield that depends on the ionic final state. This observation can be rationalized by the different lifetimes for the intermediate states contributing to a particular ionization channel. Although there are nine resonances within the group, we show that by detecting individual photoelectron final states and their angular dependence, we can identify and differentiate quantum pathways within this complex system.

A vacuum ultraviolet laser pulsed field ionization-photoion study of methane (CH4): determination of the appearance energy of methylium from methane with unprecedented precision and the resulting impact on the bond dissociation energies of CH4and CH4+

High-resolution VUV laser PFI-PI detection method for the study of quantum-state-selected unimolecular ion dissociation.

High-resolution vacuum ultraviolet laser spectroscopy of the C 0+u ← X 0+g transition of Xe2

Rotationally resolved (1 + 1′), resonance-enhanced, two-photon ionization spectra of the C 0+u ← X 0+g transition of several isotopomers of Xe2 have been recorded. Rotational constants have been determined for the v′ = 14–26 levels of the C 0+u Rydberg state and the v′′ = 0 and 1 levels of the X 0+g ground state, and band origins have been determined with an absolute accuracy of 0.015 cm–1 for the transitions to the v′ = 14–26 levels of the C 0+u state of the 129Xe2, 129Xe–132Xe, and 131Xe–136Xe isotopomers. The equilibrium internuclear separation of the X 0+g ground state (Re = 4.3773(49) Å) was determined from the rotational constants of the v′′ = 0 and 1 levels. The analysis of the isotopic shifts of the band origins enabled the confirmation of the absolute numbering of the vibrational levels of the C 0+u state determined by Lipson et al. (R.H. Lipson, P.E. Larocque, and B.P. Stoicheff. J. Chem. Phys. 82, 4470 (1985)). A semiempirical interaction potential for the X 0+g ground state was derived in a nonlinear fitting procedure using the present spectroscopic results, the positions of the v′′ = 2–9 levels determined by Freeman et al. (D.E. Freeman, K. Yoshino, and Y. Tanaka. J. Chem. Phys. 61, 4880 (1974)) and experimental values for the second virial coefficient. The interaction potential is similar to previous semiempirical potentials but the dissociation energy (De = (196.1 ± 1.1) cm–1) differs from the value of 183.1 cm–1 determined in the latest ab initio calculation (P. Slavíček, R. Kalus, P. Paška, I. Odvárková, P. Hobza, and A. Malijevský. J. Chem. Phys. 119, 2102 (2003)).

Key words: high-resolution vacuum ultraviolet laser spectroscopy, rare gas dimers and their cations, photoionisation, Xe2, rotationally resolved electronic spectrum.