Satellite lines at the ionization threshold in charge transfer systems

Abstract

This article deals with the possibility of low-energy ionizations of reduced intensity for larger organic molecules. Possible mechanisms which may lead to this phenomenon are outlined and the necessary structural features are discussed. The lowest ionization energies of some organic unsaturated nitro and nitroso compounds are calculated by the ADC(3) ab initio many-body Green's function method. The π-electron system consists either of fused five- and six-membered rings or of two fused five-membered rings with a variable number of heteroatoms. Some of the molecules contain exocylic double bonds and some are substituted with the donor groups -NH 2, -OH and -NHOH. The strongest many-body effects are found for the nitroso compounds, where in one case the spectral line at the ionization threshold has lost more than 40% of its intensity to satellites. We study the many-body effects at or close to the ionization threshold for these compounds. A particular mechanism which involves the screening of localized valence holes by charge transfer excitations appears to be capable of influencing the profile and intensities of the ionization spectrum already at the ionization threshold. The effect leads to strongly reduced relative intensities of the bands and may cause the appearance of satellite bands nearly at the ionization threshold. The spectral changes in the outermost valence region are discussed by using a simple model calculation in terms of ground-state electronic properties of the molecules.