Femtosecond photoelectron spectroscopy of trans-stilbene above the reaction barrier

Femtosecond photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to study the excitation of trans-stilbene above the isomerization reaction barrier. Apart from the S, contribution, evidence of a second electronic state is found based on two different transients measured across the photoelectron spectrum. Time Dependent Density Functional Theory calculations on S-0, S-1, S-2 and D-0, together with simulations of the electron energy distribution support the experimental findings for selective photoelectron energies of the So, S-1,... electronic states. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.