Rotational Doppler effect in x-ray photoionization

The energy of the photoelectron experiences a red or blue Doppler shift when the molecule recedes from the detector or approaches him. This results in a broadening of the photoelectron line due to the translational thermal motion. However, the molecules also have rotational degrees of freedom and we show that the translational Doppler effect has its rotational counterpart. This rotational Doppler effect leads to an additional broadening of the spectral line of the same magnitude as the Doppler broadening caused by translational thermal motion. The rotational Doppler broadening as well as the rotational recoil broadening is sensitive to the molecular orbital from which the photoelectron is ejected. This broadening should be taken into account in analysis of x-ray photoemission spectra of super-high resolution and it can be directly observed using x-ray pump-probe spectroscopy.