Potential Energy Surface Reconstruction and Lifetime Determination of Molecular Double-Core-Hole States in the Hard X-Ray Regime

A combination of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and resonant Auger spectroscopy provides complementary information on the dynamic response of resonantly excited molecules. This is exemplified for CH_{3}I, for which we reconstruct the potential energy surface of the dissociative I 3d^{-2} double-core-hole state and determine its lifetime. The proposed method holds a strong potential for monitoring the hard x-ray induced electron and nuclear dynamic response of core-excited molecules containing heavy elements, where ab initio calculations of potential energy surfaces and lifetimes remain challenging.

Interference between resonant and nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering

A detailed study of inelastic x-ray scattering from the ground state to the 3Σg(3σ(g)(-1)3s(g)1) state of the O2 molecule is presented. The observed angular anisotropy shows that the vibrational excitations within this final state are strongly dependent on the polarization of the incident radiation. The analysis demonstrates that this is a manifestation of interference between resonant and direct nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering. This interference provides a new tool to monitor nuclear dynamics by relative rotation of the polarization vectors of the incident and scattered photons.

Dissociative x-ray lasing

X-ray lasing is predicted to ensue when molecules are pumped into dissociative core-excited states by a free-electron-laser pulse. The lasing is due to the population inversion created in the neutral dissociation product, and the process features self-trapping of the x-ray pulse at the gain ridge. Simulations performed for the HCl molecule pumped at the 2p(1/2)→6σ resonance demonstrate that the scheme can be used to create ultrashort coherent x-ray pulses.

Spatial quantum beats in vibrational resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering at dissociating states in oxygen

Resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra excited at the 1σ(g) → 3σ(u) resonance in gas-phase O2 show excitations due to the nuclear degrees of freedom with up to 35 well-resolved discrete vibronic states and a continuum due to the kinetic energy distribution of the separated atoms. The RIXS profile demonstrates spatial quantum beats caused by two interfering wave packets with different momenta as the atoms separate. Thomson scattering strongly affects both the spectral profile and the scattering anisotropy.

X-ray absorption measured in the resonant Auger scattering mode

We report both experimental and theoretical studies on x-ray absorption measured in the resonant Auger scattering mode of gas phase carbon monoxide near the O1s-->2pi region. Both experiment and theory display a crucial difference between the x-ray absorption profiles obtained in the conventional and resonant scattering modes. Lifetime vibrational interference is the main source of the difference. It is demonstrated that such interference, which arises from a coherent excitation to overlapping intermediate levels, ruins the idea for obtaining x-ray absorption spectra in a lifetime broadening free regime.

X-ray absorption and resonant Auger spectroscopy of O2 in the vicinity of the O 1s-->sigma* resonance: experiment and theory

We report on an experimental and theoretical investigation of x-ray absorption and resonant Auger electron spectra of gas phase O(2) recorded in the vicinity of the O 1s-->sigma(*) excitation region. Our investigation shows that core excitation takes place in a region with multiple crossings of potential energy curves of the excited states. We find a complete breakdown of the diabatic picture for this part of the x-ray absorption spectrum, which allows us to assign an hitherto unexplained fine structure in this spectral region. The experimental Auger data reveal an extended vibrational progression, for the outermost singly ionized X (2)Pi(g) final state, which exhibits strong changes in spectral shape within a short range of photon energy detuning (0 eV>Omega>-0.7 eV). To explain the experimental resonant Auger electron spectra, we use a mixed adiabatic/diabatic picture selecting crossing points according to the strength of the electronic coupling. Reasonable agreement is found between experiment and theory even though the nonadiabatic couplings are neglected. The resonant Auger electron scattering, which is essentially due to decay from dissociative core-excited states, is accompanied by strong lifetime-vibrational and intermediate electronic state interferences as well as an interference with the direct photoionization channel. The overall agreement between the experimental Auger spectra and the calculated spectra supports the mixed diabatic/adiabatic picture.

Many-photon dynamics of photobleaching

A detailed dynamical theory of photobleaching by periodical sequences of laser pulses is presented. The theory is used for interpretation of recent experiments with pyrylium salts. Our simulations are based on first-principles simulations of photoabsorption cross-sections and on empirical rate constants. Two competitive channels of photobleaching, namely, photobleaching from the lowest excited singlet and triplet states and from higher excited states, are found to explain different intensity dependences of the photobleaching rates in different samples. The process includes two-photon excitation from the ground state to the first or second excited singlet states and one-photon excitation from the first singlet or triplet states to higher excited states. The fluorescence follows double-exponential dynamics with two characteristic times. The first and the shorter one is the equilibrium settling time between the ground and the lowest triplet states. The second characteristic time, the time of photobleaching, is responsible for the long-term dynamics. The effective rate of photobleaching from the first excited singlet and lowest triplet states depends differently on the irradiance in comparison with the photobleaching in higher states. The first channel is characterized by a quadratic intensity dependence in contrast to the second channel that shows a cubic dependence. The competition between these photobleaching channels is very sensitive to the rate constants as well as to the repetition rate, the pulse duration, and the peak intensity. The double-exponential decay of the fluorescence is explained by the spatial inhomogeneity of the light beam. The findings in this work are discussed in terms of the possibility of using many-photon-induced photobleaching for new three-dimensional read-write devices.

Pump-probe spectroscopy of molecules driven by infrared field in both ground and excited electronic states

Pump-probe spectra of molecules driven by strong infrared (IR) field in both ground and excited states are studied theoretically. The role of the final state interaction becomes important when pump and probe pulses overlap, and the Rabi frequency is comparable with the lifetime broadening of the excited state and the duration of the pump pulse. Our theoretical approach is applied to x-ray absorption of nitrogen molecule and valence photoionization of carbon monoxide. It is shown that IR-x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy can directly evidence the delocalization of core hole.

Proton Transfer Mediated by the Vibronic Coupling in Oxygen Core Ionized States of Glyoxalmonoxime Studied by Infrared−X-ray Pump−Probe Spectroscopy

The theory of IR-X-ray pump-probe spectroscopy beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is developed and applied to the study of the dynamics of intramolecular proton transfer in glyoxalmonoxime leading to the formation of the tautomer 2-nitrosoethenol. Due to the IR pump pulses the molecule gains sufficient energy to promote a proton to a weakly bound well. A femtosecond X-ray pulse snapshots the wave packet route and, hence, the dynamics of the proton transfer. The glyoxalmonoxime molecule contains two chemically nonequivalent oxygen atoms that possess distinct roles in the hydrogen bond, a hydrogen donor and an acceptor. Core ionizations of these form two intersecting core-ionized states, the vibronic coupling between which along the OH stretching mode partially delocalizes the core hole, resulting in a hopping of the core hole from one site to another. This, in turn, affects the dynamics of the proton transfer in the core-ionized state. The quantum dynamical simulations of X-ray photoelectron spectra of glyoxalmonoxime driven by strong IR pulses demonstrate the general applicability of the technique for studies of intramolecular proton transfer in systems with vibronic coupling.

Nonadiabatic effects in resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

We have studied the spectral features of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering of condensed ethylene with vibrational selectivity both experimentally and theoretically. Purely vibrational spectral loss features and coupled electronic and vibrational losses are observed. The one-step theory for resonant soft x-ray scattering is applied, taking multiple vibrational modes and vibronic coupling into account. Our investigation of ethylene underlines that the assignment of spectral features observed in resonant inelastic x-ray scattering of polyatomic systems requires an explicit description of the coupled electronic and vibrational loss features.

Interplay of One- and Two-Step Channels in Electrovibrational Two-Photon Absorption

We present a theory of two-photon absorption that addresses the formation of spectral shapes taking the vibrational degrees of freedom into account. The theory is used to rationalize the observed differences between the spectral shapes of one- and two-photon absorption. We find that the main cause of these differences is that the two-step and coherent two-photon spectral bands are different even considering a single final state. Our formalism is applied to the N101 molecule (p-nitro-p'-diphenylamine stilbene), which was recently studied experimentally. Simulations show that the two-step two-photon electrovibrational absorption results in a blue shift of the absorption spectrum in agreement with the measurements.

Probing Weak Molecular Orbital Interactions in Non-Conjugated Diene Molecules by Means of Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Carbon and oxygen near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of 1,4-cyclohexadiene, p-benzoquinone, norbornadiene, norbornadienone, and cis-cis-[4,4,2]propella-3,8-diene-11,12-dione were calculated by means of Hartree-Fock and hybrid density functional theory using the static-exchange (STEX) approximation. The NEXAFS spectra are used as a probe to identify weak molecular interactions between the two non-conjugated ethylenic pi* orbitals present in these molecules. We show that the X-ray absorption spectrum of 1,4-cyclohexadiene exhibits some particular spectral structures in the discrete energy region that evidence diene through-bond orbital interaction, whereas absorption peaks are identified in the norbornadiene and norbornadienone spectra that indicate effective through-space orbital interactions. The molecular structure of the cis-cis-[4,4,2]propella-3,8-diene-11,12-dione isomer is such that the indirect through-bond or through-space diene orbital interactions are too weak to be assigned by its C1s NEXAFS spectrum.

The principles of infrared-x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy. Applications on proton transfer in core-ionized water dimers

In this paper we derive the basic physics underlying infrared-x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy (IR, infrared). Particular features of the spectroscopy are highlighted and discussed, such as dependence on phase of the infrared pulse, duration and delay time of the x-ray pulse, and molecular orientation. Numerical applications are carried out for the water dimer using wave packet techniques. It is shown that core ionization of the donor oxygen of the water dimer results in a drastic change of the potential with the global minimum placed in the proton transfer region. The results of the modeling indicate that IR-x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy can be used to study the dynamics of proton transfer in this core-ionized state, and that, contrary to conventional core level photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray core-ionization driven by an IR field is a proper method to explore the proton transfer in a system like the water dimer. We observe that the trajectory of the nuclear wave packet in the ground state potential well is strongly affected by the absolute phase of the IR pulse.

Core Excitations of Biphenyl

High-resolution C(1s) near-edge X-ray absorption and X-ray photoionization spectra of the free biphenyl molecule are presented and theoretically analyzed in order to allow an assignment of the observed spectral features. Finite lifetime broadening, a high density of vibrational states, and a strong overlap of contributions from chemically different carbon atom sites only partially allow resolving the vibrational fine structure. However, the shape and width of the spectral profiles are strongly determined by both chemical shifts and vibronic effects. In particular, different from photoionization of valence levels, both types of core level spectra do not contain contributions from dihedral modes which are related to the twisting motion of the two phenyl rings. Contrary to naphthalene, C-H stretching modes are significantly enhanced in the core excitation spectra of biphenyl while the contributions from C-C stretching modes are reduced.

Core excitations of naphthalene: Vibrational structure versus chemical shifts

High-resolution x-ray photoelectron emission (XPS) and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of naphthalene are analyzed in terms of the initial state chemical shifts and the vibrational fine structure of the excitations. Carbon atoms located at peripheral sites experience only a small chemical shift and exhibit rather similar charge-vibrational coupling, while the atoms in the bridging positions differ substantially. In the XPS spectra, C-H stretching modes provide important contributions to the overall shape of the spectrum. In contrast, the NEXAFS spectrum contains only vibrational progressions from particular C-C stretching modes. The accuracy of ab initio calculations of absolute electronic transition energies is discussed in the context of minute chemical shifts, the vibrational fine structure, and the state multiplicity.

Doppler effect in resonant photoemission from SF6: correlation between Doppler profile and Auger emission anisotropy

Fragmentation of the SF6 molecule upon F 1s excitation has been studied by resonant photoemission. The F atomiclike Auger line exhibits the characteristic Doppler profile that depends on the direction of the photoelectron momentum relative to the polarization vector of the radiation as well as on the photon energy. The measured Doppler profiles are analyzed by the model simulation that takes account of the anisotropy of the Auger emission in the molecular frame. The Auger anisotropy extracted from the data decreases with an increase in the F-SF5 internuclear distance.

Interference quenching of nu(")=1 vibrational line in resonant photoemission of N2: a possibility to obtain geometrical information on the core-excited state

An interference quenching of the nu(")=1 vibrational line in the resonant Auger decay of N 1s-->pi(*) core-excited N2 is observed and analyzed. The intensity ratio between the nu(")=1 and nu(")=0 vibrational levels of the X2Sigma(+)(g) final state shows a surprising nonmonotonous variation as a function of frequency detuning, going through a minimum with a complete suppression of nu(")=1. We have developed a simple model which shows a linear relation between the value of the detuning frequency for this minimum and the equilibrium bond distance R(0)(c) of the core-excited state. A new way is thus established of determining the equilibrium bond distance for the core-excited state with a precision deltaR(0)(c)<10(-3) A.

Doppler splitting of In-flight auger decay of dissociating oxygen molecules: the localization of delocalized core holes

By exploiting the core-excitation-induced dissociation of O2, we find that the Auger emission exhibits a Doppler-like energy shift. We show this to be a manifestation of localization of the core hole and propose that the problem of core-hole localization versus delocalization in core-hole spectroscopies may be resolved by considering the nature of the measurement.