Time-Resolved Optical Pump-Resonant X-ray Probe Spectroscopy of 4-Thiouracil: A Simulation Study

We theoretically monitor the photoinduced ∗ → n∗ internal conversion process in 4-thiouracil (4TU), triggered by an optical pump. The element-sensitive spectroscopic signatures are recorded by a resonant X-ray probe tuned to the sulfur, oxygen, or nitrogen K-edge. We employ high-level electronic structure methods optimized for core-excited electronic structure calculation combined with quantum nuclear wavepacket dynamics computed on two relevant nuclear modes, fully accounting for their quantum nature of nuclear motions. We critically discuss the capabilities and limitations of the resonant technique. For sulfur and nitrogen, we document a pre-edge spectral window free from ground-state background and rich with ∗ and n∗ absorption features. The lowest sulfur K-edge shows strong absorption for both ∗ and n*. In the lowest nitrogen K-edge window, we resolve a state-specific fingerprint of the ∗ and an approximate timing of the conical intersection via its depletion. A spectral signature of the n∗ transition, not accessible by UV-vis spectroscopy, is identified. The oxygen K-edge is not sensitive to molecular deformations and gives steady transient absorption features without spectral dynamics. The */n∗ coherence information is masked by more intense contributions from populations. Altogether, element-specific time-resolved resonant X-ray spectroscopy provides a detailed picture of the electronic excited-state dynamics and therefore a sensitive window into the photophysics of thiobases.