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

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. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.