From double-slit interference to structural information in simple hydrocarbons

Abstract

Significance Electrons emitted from equivalent centers in isolated molecules via the photoelectric effect interfere, providing an atomic-scale equivalent of the celebrated Young’s double-slit experiment. We have developed a theoretical and experimental framework to characterize such interference phenomena accurately, and we have applied it to the simplest hydrocarbons with different bond lengths and bonding types. We demonstrate that such fundamental observations can be related to crucial structural information, such as chemical bond lengths, molecular orbital composition, and quantitative assessment of many-body effects, with a very high accuracy. The experimental and theoretical tools we use are relatively simple and easily accessible, and our method can readily be extended to larger systems, including molecules of biological interest.

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique FR
• Uppsala University SE
• Istituto Officina dei Materiali IT
• University of Trieste IT
• Laboratoire de Chimie Physique - Matière et Rayonnement FR
• Sorbonne Université FR
• National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology IT
• Synchrotron soleil FR

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