Research Projects

The current proposal aims to build a collinear velocity map imaging spectrometer coupled to an efficient position sensitive electron detection system. Studies on the interstellar medium (ISM) anions have recently gained momentum. Only six ISM anions have been discovered to date. Lack of spectroscopic data on anions is the main reason for this slow progress. Photoelectron spectroscopy is a vital tool to study the structure of anions. Large molecular anions with congested vibrational structure demand high resolution photoelectron spectroscopy. The proposed collinear velocity map imaging spectrometer could lead to high energy resolution of about 0.2% which is much required to probe large molecular anions. This project aims to design and construct the collinear velocity map imaging and calibrate the same. Variation of the resolution with electron energy and the interaction volume will be studied. The spectrometer will then be employed to identify dipole-bound anion states and dipole stabilized anion resonances by measuring photoelectron angular distribution. Measurement of photoelectron kinetic energy using this spectrometer will yield the electron affinity and the electronic structure of the molecules. Measurements with the proposed high resolution spectrometer could identify efficient pathways for the formation of anions in the interstellar medium.

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