In physics and chemistry, photoemission orbital tomography (POT; sometimes called photoemission tomography) is a combined experimental / theoretical approach which was initially developed to reveal information about the spatial distribution of individual one-electron surface-state wave functions [1] and later extended to study molecular orbitals. [2] [3] Experimentally, it uses angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to obtain constant binding energy photoemission angular distribution maps. In their pioneering work, Mugarza et al. in 2003 [1] used a phase-retrieval method to obtain the wave function of electron surface states based on ARPES data acquired from stepped gold crystalline surfaces; they obtained the respective wave functions and, upon insertion into the Schrödinger equation, also the binding potential. More recently, photoemission maps, also known as tomograms (also known as momentum maps or -maps), have been shown to reveal information about the electron probability distribution in molecular orbitals. Theoretically, one rationalizes these tomograms as hemispherical cuts through the molecular orbital in momentum space. This interpretation relies on the assumption of a plane wave final state, i.e., the idea that the outgoing electron can be treated as a free electron, which can be further exploited to reconstruct real-space images of molecular orbitals on a sub-Ångström length scale in two [4] [5] [6] or three dimensions. [7] [8] Presently, POT has been applied to various organic molecules forming well-oriented monolayers on single crystal surfaces or to two-dimensional materials.
Within the framework of POT, the photo-excitation is treated as a single coherent process from an initial (molecular) orbital to the final state , which is referred to as the one-step-model of photoemission. The intensity distribution in the tomograms, , is then given from Fermi's golden rule as [9]
Here, and are the components of the emitted electron's wave vector parallel to the surface, which are related to the polar and azimuthal emission angles and defined in the figure as follows,
where and are the wave number and kinetic energy of the emitted electron, respectively, where is the reduced Planck constant and is the electron mass. The transition matrix element is given in the dipole approximation, where and , respectively, denote the momentum operator of the electron and the vector potential of the exciting electromagnetic wave. In the independent electron approximation, the spectral function reduces to a delta function and ensures energy conservation, where denotes the sample work function, the binding energy of the initial state, and the energy of the exciting photon.
In POT, the evaluation of the transition matrix element is further simplified by approximating the final state by a plane wave. Then, the photocurrent arising from one particular initial state is proportional to the Fourier transform of the initial state wave function modulated by the weakly angle-dependent polarization factor :
As illustrated in the figure, the relationship between the real space orbital and its photoemission distribution can be represented by an Ewald's sphere-like construction. Thus, a one-to-one relation between the photocurrent and the molecular orbital density in reciprocal space can be established. Moreover, a reconstruction of molecular orbital densities in real space via an inverse Fourier transform and applying an iterative phase retrieval algorithm has also been demonstrated. [5]
The basic experimental requirements are a reasonably monoenergetic photon source (inert gas discharge lamps, synchrotron radiation or UV laser sources) and an angle-resolved photoelectron spectrometer. Ideally, a large angular distribution (-area) should be collected. Much of the development of POT was made using a toroidal analyzer [10] with -polarized synchrotron radiation. Here the spectrometer collects the hemicircle of emissions () in the plane of incidence and polarization, and the momentum maps are obtained by rotating the sample azimuth (). A number of commercially available electron spectrometers are now on the market which have been shown to be suited to POT. These include large acceptance angle hemispherical analysers, spectrometers with photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) lenses and time of flight (TOF) spectrometers.
POT has found many interesting applications including the assignment of molecular orbital densities in momentum and real space, [11] [12] the deconvolution of spectra into individual orbital contributions beyond the limits of energy resolution, [13] the extraction of detailed geometric information, [14] or the identification of reaction products. [15] Recently, the extension to the time-domain has been demonstrated by combining time-resolved photoemission using high laser harmonics and a momentum microscope to measure the full momentum-space distribution of transiently excited electrons in organic molecules. [16]
The possibility to measure the spatial distribution of electrons in frontier molecular orbitals has stimulated discussions on the interpretation of the concept of orbitals itself. [17] The present understanding is that the information retrieved from photoemission orbital tomography should be interpreted as Dyson orbitals. [18] [19]
Approximating the photoelectron's final state by a plane wave have been viewed critically. [20] Indeed, there are cases where the plane-wave final state approximation is problematic including a proper description of the photon energy dependence, the circular dichroism in the photoelectron angular distribution [21] or certain experimental geometries. [20] Nevertheless, the usefulness of the plane wave final state approximation has been extended beyond the originally suggested case of -orbitals of large, planar -conjugated molecules to three-dimensional molecules, [22] small organic molecules [23] and extended to two-dimensional materials. [24] Theoretical approaches beyond the plane wave final state approximation have also been demonstrated including time-dependent density functional theory calculations [25] or Green's function techniques. [26]
In quantum mechanics, an atomic orbital is a function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in an atom. This function describes an electron's charge distribution around the atom's nucleus, and can be used to calculate the probability of finding an electron in a specific region around the nucleus.
In chemistry, a molecular orbital is a mathematical function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in a molecule. This function can be used to calculate chemical and physical properties such as the probability of finding an electron in any specific region. The terms atomic orbital and molecular orbital were introduced by Robert S. Mulliken in 1932 to mean one-electron orbital wave functions. At an elementary level, they are used to describe the region of space in which a function has a significant amplitude.
The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons from a material caused by electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physics, solid state, and quantum chemistry to draw inferences about the properties of atoms, molecules and solids. The effect has found use in electronic devices specialized for light detection and precisely timed electron emission.
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory that describes the behavior of nature at and below the scale of atoms. It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
Ionization is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged atom or molecule is called an ion. Ionization can result from the loss of an electron after collisions with subatomic particles, collisions with other atoms, molecules, electrons, positrons, protons, antiprotons and ions, or through the interaction with electromagnetic radiation. Heterolytic bond cleavage and heterolytic substitution reactions can result in the formation of ion pairs. Ionization can occur through radioactive decay by the internal conversion process, in which an excited nucleus transfers its energy to one of the inner-shell electrons causing it to be ejected.
In quantum chemistry and molecular physics, the Born–Oppenheimer (BO) approximation is the best-known mathematical approximation in molecular dynamics. Specifically, it is the assumption that the wave functions of atomic nuclei and electrons in a molecule can be treated separately, based on the fact that the nuclei are much heavier than the electrons. Due to the larger relative mass of a nucleus compared to an electron, the coordinates of the nuclei in a system are approximated as fixed, while the coordinates of the electrons are dynamic. The approach is named after Max Born and his 23-year-old graduate student J. Robert Oppenheimer, the latter of whom proposed it in 1927 during a period of intense fervent in the development of quantum mechanics.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a surface-sensitive quantitative spectroscopic technique that measures the very topmost 200 atoms, 0.01 um, 10 nm of any surface. It belongs to the family of photoemission spectroscopies in which electron population spectra are obtained by irradiating a material with a beam of X-rays. XPS is based on the photoelectric effect that can identify the elements that exist within a material or are covering its surface, as well as their chemical state, and the overall electronic structure and density of the electronic states in the material. XPS is a powerful measurement technique because it not only shows what elements are present, but also what other elements they are bonded to. The technique can be used in line profiling of the elemental composition across the surface, or in depth profiling when paired with ion-beam etching. It is often applied to study chemical processes in the materials in their as-received state or after cleavage, scraping, exposure to heat, reactive gasses or solutions, ultraviolet light, or during ion implantation.
Quantum superposition is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that states that linear combinations of solutions to the Schrödinger equation are also solutions of the Schrödinger equation. This follows from the fact that the Schrödinger equation is a linear differential equation in time and position. More precisely, the state of a system is given by a linear combination of all the eigenfunctions of the Schrödinger equation governing that system.
In classical and quantum mechanics, geometric phase is a phase difference acquired over the course of a cycle, when a system is subjected to cyclic adiabatic processes, which results from the geometrical properties of the parameter space of the Hamiltonian. The phenomenon was independently discovered by S. Pancharatnam (1956), in classical optics and by H. C. Longuet-Higgins (1958) in molecular physics; it was generalized by Michael Berry in (1984). It is also known as the Pancharatnam–Berry phase, Pancharatnam phase, or Berry phase. It can be seen in the conical intersection of potential energy surfaces and in the Aharonov–Bohm effect. Geometric phase around the conical intersection involving the ground electronic state of the C6H3F3+ molecular ion is discussed on pages 385–386 of the textbook by Bunker and Jensen. In the case of the Aharonov–Bohm effect, the adiabatic parameter is the magnetic field enclosed by two interference paths, and it is cyclic in the sense that these two paths form a loop. In the case of the conical intersection, the adiabatic parameters are the molecular coordinates. Apart from quantum mechanics, it arises in a variety of other wave systems, such as classical optics. As a rule of thumb, it can occur whenever there are at least two parameters characterizing a wave in the vicinity of some sort of singularity or hole in the topology; two parameters are required because either the set of nonsingular states will not be simply connected, or there will be nonzero holonomy.
Tomography is imaging by sections or sectioning that uses any kind of penetrating wave. The method is used in radiology, archaeology, biology, atmospheric science, geophysics, oceanography, plasma physics, materials science, cosmochemistry, astrophysics, quantum information, and other areas of science. The word tomography is derived from Ancient Greek τόμος tomos, "slice, section" and γράφω graphō, "to write" or, in this context as well, "to describe." A device used in tomography is called a tomograph, while the image produced is a tomogram.
In computational physics and chemistry, the Hartree–Fock (HF) method is a method of approximation for the determination of the wave function and the energy of a quantum many-body system in a stationary state.
In quantum mechanics, the azimuthal quantum numberℓ is a quantum number for an atomic orbital that determines its orbital angular momentum and describes aspects of the angular shape of the orbital. The azimuthal quantum number is the second of a set of quantum numbers that describe the unique quantum state of an electron.
Photoemission spectroscopy (PES), also known as photoelectron spectroscopy, refers to energy measurement of electrons emitted from solids, gases or liquids by the photoelectric effect, in order to determine the binding energies of electrons in the substance. The term refers to various techniques, depending on whether the ionization energy is provided by X-ray, XUV or UV photons. Regardless of the incident photon beam, however, all photoelectron spectroscopy revolves around the general theme of surface analysis by measuring the ejected electrons.
In theoretical physics, the pilot wave theory, also known as Bohmian mechanics, was the first known example of a hidden-variable theory, presented by Louis de Broglie in 1927. Its more modern version, the de Broglie–Bohm theory, interprets quantum mechanics as a deterministic theory, and avoids issues such as wave–particle duality, instantaneous wave function collapse, and the paradox of Schrödinger's cat by being inherently nonlocal.
In physics, a parity transformation is the flip in the sign of one spatial coordinate. In three dimensions, it can also refer to the simultaneous flip in the sign of all three spatial coordinates :
In chemistry and physics, the exchange interaction is a quantum mechanical constraint on the states of indistinguishable particles. While sometimes called an exchange force, or, in the case of fermions, Pauli repulsion, its consequences cannot always be predicted based on classical ideas of force. Both bosons and fermions can experience the exchange interaction.
X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), also known as near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), is a type of absorption spectroscopy that indicates the features in the X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of condensed matter due to the photoabsorption cross section for electronic transitions from an atomic core level to final states in the energy region of 50–100 eV above the selected atomic core level ionization energy, where the wavelength of the photoelectron is larger than the interatomic distance between the absorbing atom and its first neighbour atoms.
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is an experimental technique used in condensed matter physics to probe the allowed energies and momenta of the electrons in a material, usually a crystalline solid. It is based on the photoelectric effect, in which an incoming photon of sufficient energy ejects an electron from the surface of a material. By directly measuring the kinetic energy and emission angle distributions of the emitted photoelectrons, the technique can map the electronic band structure and Fermi surfaces. ARPES is best suited for the study of one- or two-dimensional materials. It has been used by physicists to investigate high-temperature superconductors, graphene, topological materials, quantum well states, and materials exhibiting charge density waves.
Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) refers to the measurement of kinetic energy spectra of photoelectrons emitted by molecules that have absorbed ultraviolet photons, in order to determine molecular orbital energies in the valence region.
Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by composite particles such as hadrons, atomic nuclei, and atoms. Spin is quantized, and accurate models for the interaction with spin require relativistic quantum mechanics or quantum field theory.