The gamma-ray spectra of 5-carbon alkane isomers in the positron annihilation process

•The structure effects only play a minor role in the one-dimension gamma-ray spectra.•The present study further confirms the dominance of the inner valence electrons in the positron–electron annihilation process.•The momentum distributions of the electrons play more important role than the coordinate distributions.

The gamma-ray spectra of pentane (C5H12) and its two isomers, i.e., 2-Methylbutane (CH3C(CH3)HC2H5) and 2,2-Dimethylpropane (C(CH3)4) have been studied theoretically in the present work. The recent experimental gamma-ray spectra of these three molecules show that they have the same Doppler shifts, although their molecular structures are dramatically different. In order to reveal why the gamma-ray spectra of these molecules are less sensitive to the molecular structures, the one-dimensional gamma-ray spectra and spherically averaged momentum (SAM) distributions, the two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation (ACAR), and the three-dimensional momentum distributions of the positron–electron pair are studied. The one-centered momentum distributions of the electrons are found to play more important role than the multi-centered coordinate distributions. The present theoretical predictions have confirmed the experimental findings for the first time. The dominance of the inner valence electrons in the positron–electron annihilation process has also been suggested in the present work.