Soft X-ray Molecular Spectroscopy: Dissecting the Continuum

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In this project supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Poliakoff will identify and characterize aspects of the photoelectron ejection process which retain their molecular character far from threshold using soft X-ray molecular spectroscopy. Electronically excited photoions will be created using tunable synchrotron radiation, and their dynamics will be investigated via their dispersed fluorescence. These studies are unique in that the range of kinetic energies probed extends hundreds of eV into the ionization continuum, where the molecular character of the electron ejection still persists. Vibrational and rotational energy deposition into molecular photoions over a broad range of photoionization energies will be determined. Earlier experiments on simple molecules will be extended to examine small polyatomic molecules. The results of these experiments will provide a useful database for experiments employing photoionization and will furnish insights into fundamental scattering phenomena, thereby aiding the continued development of molecular scattering theory. In the experiments performed in this project, the motions that electrons make when molecules dissociate under the influence of high-energy light will be correlated with the motions of the nuclei. The light used in these studies will come in part from a synchrotron radiation source at Louisiana State University. The data acquired in these studies is inaccessible by other techniques and will be used to guide and shape theoretical models for these processes. Some of the processes studied in this project are relevant to understanding the physical and chemical reactions involved in the X-ray processing of materials.