Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Proton Transfer and Protein Conformation Dynamics in Photosensitive Proteins by Time-resolved Step-scan Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: June 27, 2014
Probing proton dynamics in molecules on an attosecond time scale
S Baker1, J S Robinson, C A Haworth
1Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2BZ, UK.
Abstract:
We demonstrate a technique that uses high-order harmonic generation in molecules to probe nuclear dynamics and structural rearrangement on a subfemtosecond time scale. The chirped nature of the electron wavepacket produced by laser ionization in a strong field gives rise to a similar chirp in the photons emitted upon electron-ion recombination. Use of this chirp in the emitted light allows information about nuclear dynamics to be gained with 100-attosecond temporal resolution, from excitation by an 8-femtosecond pulse, in a single laser shot. Measurements on molecular hydrogen and deuterium agreed well with calculations of ultrafast nuclear dynamics in the H2+ molecule, confirming the validity of the method. We then measured harmonic spectra from CH4 and CD4 to demonstrate a few-femtosecond time scale for the onset of proton rearrangement in methane upon ionization.
More Related Videos
11:33All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
Published on: January 19, 2018
09:25NMR 15N Relaxation Experiments for the Investigation of Picosecond to Nanoseconds Structural Dynamics of Proteins
Published on: November 1, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Proton (¹H) NMR: Chemical Shift
Absorption signals of all the protium nuclei in a...
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
¹H NMR of Labile Protons: Temporal Resolution
The –OH proton in alcohols typically appears in the range of δ 2 to 5 ppm but can vary depending on the specific...
¹³C NMR: Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT)
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Double Resonance Techniques: Overview
Spin decoupling is usually achieved by...