We report a theoretical investigation and elucidation of the x-ray absorption spectra of neutral benzene and of the benzene cation. The generation of the cation by multiphoton ultraviolet (UV) ionization as well as the measurement of<br>the carbon K-edge spectra of both species using a table-top high-harmonic generation (HHG) source are described in the companion experimental paper [M. Epshtein et al., J. Phys.<br>Chem. A., submitted. Available on ChemRxiv]. We show that the 1sC -> pi transition serves as a sensitive signature of the transient cation formation, as it occurs outside of the spectral window of the parent neutral species. Moreover, the presence<br>of the unpaired (spectator) electron in the pi-subshell of the cation and the high symmetry of the system result in significant differences relative to neutral benzene in the spectral features associated with the 1sC ->pi* transitions. High-level calculations using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster theory provide the interpretation of the experimental spectra and insight into the electronic structure of benzene and its cation.<br>The prominent split structure of the 1sC -> pi* band of the cation is attributed to the interplay between the coupling of the core -> pi* excitation with the unpaired electron<br>in the pi-subshell and the Jahn-Teller distortion. The calculations attribute most of<br>the splitting (~1-1.2 eV) to the spin coupling, which is visible already at the Franck-Condon structure, and estimate the additional splitting due to structural relaxation to<br>be around ~0.1-0.2 eV. These results suggest that x-ray absorption with increased resolution might be able to disentangle electronic and structural aspects of the Jahn-Teller<br>effect in benzene cation.<br>
Multi-mJ, kHz, 2.1-μm OPCPA for high-flux soft X-ray high-harmonic radiation