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Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Uncovering Hidden Dynamics of Natural Photonic Structures Using Holographic Imaging
Published on: March 31, 2022
Probing Molecular Dynamics by Laser-Induced Backscattering Holography
Marko Haertelt1, Xue-Bin Bian2, Michael Spanner1
1Joint Attosecond Science Laboratory, University of Ottawa and National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6.
Abstract:
We use differential holography to overcome the forward scattering problem in strong-field photoelectron holography. Our differential holograms of H_{2} and D_{2} molecules exhibit a fishbonelike structure, which arises from the backscattered part of the recolliding photoelectron wave packet. We demonstrate that the backscattering hologram can resolve the different nuclear dynamics between H_{2} and D_{2} with subangstrom spatial and subcycle temporal resolution. In addition, we show that attosecond electron dynamics can be resolved. These results open a new avenue for ultrafast studies of molecular dynamics in small molecules.

