IR-photon quenching of delayed electron detachment from hot pentacene anions

The authors report a detailed study of the spontaneous decay and the laser-induced delayed detachment associated with radiative cooling processes of hot anions of pentacene, a prototypical member of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) family of molecules. As an important constituent of interstellar clouds, this molecule is of particular interest to the fields of astrophysics and astrochemistry.