Coherent two-center electron emission from static and transient molecules

Interference effects analogous to Young's two-slit experiment are observed in the spectra of electrons ejected coherently from multiple atomic centers. The oscillatory structures are found to exhibit variations in the oscillation frequency with electron observation angle and projectile velocity in general agreement with predictions of the Born approximation. In addition to the main oscillatory structure, second-order oscillations with ∼3 times higher frequency superimposed on the main structure are observed. These latter oscillations are attributed to intramolecular scattering and have no analogy in Young's experiment. Furthermore, the normalized ratios show evidence for still higher-frequency oscillations (by a factor of ∼20) superimposed on the second-order structures.