Role of stray light in the formation of high-resolution resonant photoelectron spectra: An experimental and theoretical study of N ₂

We show that the undular stray light, diffusely scattered by the optical system of a synchrotron beamline, can play an important role in the formation of high-resolution resonant photoelectron (RPE) spectra. The influence of the stray light is mediated through the Stokes doubling effect, with the Lorentzian tail of the spectral function being replaced by a more complicated form. This effect is shown to appear in the high-resolution resonant photoelectron spectrum of the N₂ molecule in which the spectral shape of the "non-Raman (NR) bands" differs qualitatively for the A ²Π_u and X²Σ_g⁺ final states. A particularly large enhancement of the non-Raman Stokes line is observed for the A-state while the picture is inverted for the X-state where the non-Raman band is suppressed. It is shown that the resonant photoemission profile is affected by two qualitatively different detunings, the detuning of the monochromatized line relative to the photoabsorption line and the detuning of the undulator harmonic relative to the same reference line. The experimental data show that the relative intensity of the non-Raman line strongly depends on the tuning of the undulator harmonic with respect to the selected monochromator bandpass, leading to a strong decrease of the Stokes line intensity for certain undulator detunings. A clear red-shift asymmetry for the decrease in the Stokes line intensity is observed when the monochromator line is detuned towards negative photon frequencies, whereas the picture is reverted for the situation of a positively detuned monochromator line. The results show the necessity to control the stray light and to investigate both the Raman and non-Raman contributions to the spectral profiles in order to avoid misinterpretation and in order to make full use of the information available in resonant photoemission spectra of molecules.