Anion Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Ab Initio Studies of the UF- Anion.

A synergistic anion photoelectron spectroscopic and ab initio computational study of photodetachment of UF- is reported. The measurement determined a vertical detachment energy of 0.63(03) eV, which is consistent with a spinor-based relativistic coupled-cluster CCSD(T) value of 0.61 eV. The complex spectral features due to excited electronic states and vibrational progressions of UF are analyzed and assigned with the help of spin-orbit-coupled multireference perturbation theory and spinor-based relativistic coupled-cluster calculations. UF and UF- are confirmed to be dominated by ionic bonding. The usefulness of the spinor CCSD(T) approach is demonstrated.