Energy-gain satellite structure in the C(1s) x-ray photoemission spectra of organic macromolecules

Satellite peaks on the high kinetic energy side of the C(1s) photoemission line of several aromatic organic macromolecules are observed. Subsidary experiments indicate that these peaks correspond to the absorption of quanta of energy from the exciton population created at the surfaces of thin film samples by the inelastic scattering of photoelectrons not collected under the C(1s) peak. This phenomenon would then be an approximate electronic analogue to photon-vibron hot bands in the Frank-Condon effect in the optical spectroscopy of molecules.