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$Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene$

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Time-resolved electron diffraction from selectively aligned molecules.

Peter Reckenthaeler¹, Martin Centurion, Werner Fuss

¹Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany.

Physical Review Letters

|June 13, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers achieved ultrafast electron diffraction from molecules aligned without external fields. This alignment, created by laser pulses, decayed within picoseconds, offering a new method for studying molecular dynamics.

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Area of Science:

Molecular dynamics
Ultrafast electron diffraction
Femtosecond spectroscopy

Background:

Studying transient molecular alignment is crucial for understanding chemical reactions.
External fields are typically used to align molecules, but this can interfere with measurements.
Developing field-free alignment methods is essential for accurate probing of molecular motion.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally demonstrate ultrafast electron diffraction from molecules aligned without external fields.
To investigate the dynamics of field-free molecular alignment.
To establish a novel technique for probing molecular structure and dynamics.

Main Methods:

Generating molecular alignment via femtosecond laser pulse photodissociation.
Probing the aligned molecules using picosecond electron pulses.
Measuring ultrafast electron diffraction patterns.

Main Results:

Successfully demonstrated ultrafast electron diffraction from transiently aligned molecules.
Observed that molecular alignment decays with a time constant of 2.6 ± 1.2 picoseconds.
Showcased the feasibility of field-free alignment for diffraction studies.

Conclusions:

Field-free molecular alignment can be effectively generated and utilized for ultrafast electron diffraction.
The rapid decay of alignment (picosecond timescale) necessitates prompt probing.
This technique offers a promising avenue for investigating ultrafast molecular dynamics.