Attosecond spectroscopy reveals spontaneous symmetry breaking in molecular photoionization.

ABSTRACT: Spontaneous symmetry breaking, driven by nonadiabatic electron-nuclear coupling, can lead to geometric complexity in molecules and solids. While structural distortion from symmetry breaking occurs in femtoseconds, the timescale to lift electronic state degeneracy has remained elusive. We use the vibrationally resolved attosecond chronoscope to capture the electronic symmetry breaking induced by the Renner-Teller effect in bent CO₂ molecules after photoionization by an extreme ultraviolet photon by measuring attosecond ionization delays. Relative photoionization delays between the four cation states are observed, with vibrational state-dependent delays, we analyze the evolution of the degenerate [Formula: see text] state to the nondegenerate A' and A″ states due to

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12448068 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature