Impact of Jahn-Teller distortions on persistent molecular ring current in benzene

TL;DR

This paper studies how Jahn-Teller distortions influence the persistent ring current in benzene cation after ionization by femtosecond UV laser pulses, revealing the impact of symmetry breaking on molecular current dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the time-dependent behavior of ring currents in benzene cation considering Jahn-Teller distortions, a novel focus in this context.

Findings

Jahn-Teller distortions significantly affect the persistence of ring currents.

Symmetry breaking alters the current's strength and duration.

The study offers insights into controlling molecular currents via symmetry manipulation.

Abstract

Circularly polarized femtosecond UV laser pulse can remove a {\pi} electron from benzene in such a way that the leftover hole circulates around the cation as a persistent ring current. We investigate the time dependent strength of the current as the molecule relaxes from the D6h symmetry of the neutral to the D2h symmetry of the cation due to the Jahn-Teller effect. We explore the effect of spontaneous symmetry breaking on persistent ring currents for benzene cation, because it is one of the most comprehensively studied examples of the Jahn-Teller effect.