Photoelectron imaging of the SO3 anion: vibrational resolution in photoelectron angular distributions*

The photoelectron imaging of the pyramidal sulphite radical monoanion is presented in the photon energy range spanning 3.10–4.45 eV. Two features are seen corresponding to formation of the ground electronic state of the neutral and to thermionic emission, which is seen for hv > 3.7 eV. Photoelectron spectra corresponding to direct detachment show vibrational structure associated with the v2 umbrella mode of the neutral. A similar structure is seen in the photoelectron angular distributions. The photoelectron angular distributions were modelled and agree with experiment. However, we cannot provide an explanation for the observed vibrational structure in the photoelectron angular distributions. The observed thermionic emission is assigned to the excitation to a pair of degenerate Feshbach resonances, which can internally convert and subsequently emit electrons statistically