Ab initio electronic structure of thymine anions.

Dipole-bound and valence-bound anions of thymine were characterised by means of state-of-the-art ab initio calculations. The dipole-bound anion of thymine is both vertically and adiabatically stable with adiabatic electron affinity of 51 meV. The valence-bound anion is also adiabatically stable, albeit only marginally. Its vertical stability of 501 meV is, however, higher than that of the dipole-bound anion. All these values agree well with experimental findings.