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Updated: May 9, 2026
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All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
Published on: January 19, 2018
Probing time-dependent molecular dipoles on the attosecond time scale.
Physical Review Letters
|August 6, 2013
Summary
Researchers observed ultrafast electron motion in molecules like N(2), CO(2), and C(2)H(4) using attosecond pulses. This reveals electron dynamics and enables molecular attosecond Stark spectroscopy.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Quantum Dynamics
- Molecular Spectroscopy
Background:
- Photoinduced molecular processes are initiated by light-matter interactions.
- Early electron motion significantly influences reaction outcomes.
- Understanding attosecond electron dynamics is crucial for controlling molecular reactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To observe and characterize attosecond electron dynamics in neutral molecules.
- To probe time-dependent molecular dipoles induced by laser fields.
- To demonstrate a new spectroscopic technique for molecular attosecond science.
Main Methods:
- Ionization of small- and medium-sized molecules (N(2), CO(2), C(2)H(4)) using attosecond pulses.
- Monitoring time-dependent parent molecular ion yields.
- Employing a moderately strong near-infrared laser field to induce time-dependent dipoles.
Main Results:
- First observation of attosecond electron dynamics in N(2), CO(2), and C(2)H(4).
- Successful probing of time-dependent induced dipoles.
- Demonstration of attosecond time-resolved electron motion.
Conclusions:
- Attosecond electron motion can be directly observed in neutral molecules.
- The developed method allows probing of light-induced electronic dynamics.
- This work introduces molecular attosecond Stark spectroscopy for studying ultrafast molecular processes.
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