Influence of geometry on positron binding to molecules

Abstract

Annihilation studies have established that positrons bind to most molecules. They also provide measurements of the positron-molecule binding energies, which are found to vary widely and depend upon molecular size and composition. Trends of binding energy with global parameters such as molecular polarizability and dipole moment have been discussed previously. In this paper, the dependence of binding energy on molecular geometry is investigated by studying resonant positron annihilation on selected pairs of isomers. It is found that molecular geometry can play a significant role in determining the binding energies even for isomers with very similar polarizabilities and dipole moments. The possible origins of this dependence are discussed.