Low energy electron impact resonances of anthracene probed by 2D photoelectron imaging of its radical anion

Electron-molecule resonances of anthracene were probed by 2D photoelectron imaging of the corresponding radical anion up to 3.7 eV in the continuum. A number of resonances were observed in both the photoelectron spectra and angular distributions, and most resonances showed clear autodetachment dynamics. The resonances were assigned using density functional theory calculations and are consistent with the available literature. Competition between direct and autodetachment, as well as signatures of internal conversion between resonances, was observed for some resonances. For the 1²B_2g resonance, a small fraction of population recovers the ground electronic state as evidenced by thermionic emission. Recovery of the ground electronic state offers a route of producing anions in an electron–molecule reaction; however, the energy at which this occurs suggests that anthracene anions cannot be formed in the interstellar medium by electron capture through this resonance.