Multi-slit-type interference in carbon 2s photoionization of polyatomic molecules : from a fundamental effect to structural parameters

In molecular photoemission, the analogue of the celebrated Young's double slit experiment is coherent electron emission from two equivalent atomic centers, giving rise to an interference pattern. Here multi-slit interference is investigated in inner-valence photoionization of propane, n-butane, isobutane and methyl peroxide. A more complex pattern is observed due to molecular orbital delocalization in polyatomic molecules, blurring the distinction between interference and diffraction. The potential to extract geometrical information is emphasized, as a more powerful extension of the EXAFS technique. Accurate reproduction of experimental features is obtained by simulations at the static Density Functional Theory level.