Vibrational structure in theN2−(Πg2)electron resonance ofN2films

Abstract

The formation of a temporary $\mathrm{N}_2^{}{}_{}{}^{-}$ state around 2 eV in electron scattering from ${\mathrm{N}}_2$-covered metal surfaces is established by resolving the vibrational structure of the anion in the $v=1,2,3,\mathrm{and} 4$ decay channels of ground state ${\mathrm{N}}_2$ and by the demonstration of the presence of a "boomerang" effect. The average vibrational energy (0.29 meV) and the lifetime (∼ 3 × ${10}^{-15\mathrm{}}$ sec), which are close to the gas-phase values, indicate that the solid-phase anion has a symmetry similar to the ${}_{}{}^2{}_{}{}^{}\Pi _g^{}{}_{}{}^{}$ configuration.