Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry01:21

Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry

990
The molecular ion peak of a molecule in the mass spectrum provides vital information for molecular identification. However, conventional electron impact ionization can lead to the rapid dissociation of some molecular ions before they reach the detector. A milder ionization method is required to increase the lifetime of such ionized analyte molecules. Chemical ionization (CI) is a gas-phase protonation reaction useful for mass-analyzing analyte molecules that are easily protonated to yield the...
990
Ionization Energy03:12

Ionization Energy

38.5K
The amount of energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron from a gaseous atom in its ground state is called its first ionization energy (IE1). The first ionization energy for an element, X, is the energy required to form a cation with 1+ charge:
38.5K
Ions, Molecules, and Compounds01:23

Ions, Molecules, and Compounds

11.3K
Ions - When an atom participates in a chemical reaction that results in the donation or acceptance of one or more electrons, the atom becomes positively or negatively charged. This frequently happens for most atoms to have a full valence shell. This can happen either by gaining electrons to fill a shell that is more than half-full or by giving away electrons to empty a shell that is less than half-full, thereby leaving the next smaller electron shell as the new, full valence shell. An atom with...
11.3K
Mass Spectrometers01:16

Mass Spectrometers

7.0K
This lesson details the instrumentation of a mass spectrometer—a physical instrument to perform mass spectrometry on analyte molecules and record the characteristic mass spectra. This is achieved via three chief functions:
7.0K
Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Fragmentation Overview01:20

Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Fragmentation Overview

4.1K
The ionization of a molecule into a molecular ion inside the mass spectrometer causes instability in the molecule's structure due to the loss of an electron. This eventually leads to the fragmentation or breaking of some bonds in the molecule. The fragmentation occurs predominantly at specific bonds to yield relatively stable fragments.
One type of fragmentation pattern is the cleavage of a single bond in the molecular ion. The cleavage leads to a radical and a cation. The cleavage can...
4.1K
Mass Spectrometry: Overview01:19

Mass Spectrometry: Overview

6.8K
Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique used to determine the molecular mass and molecular formula of a compound. The basic principle of mass spectrometry is to generate ions from the analyte molecule and measure these ion abundances against their molecular mass.  One common type of ionization, known as electrospray ionization or EI, bombards the analyte molecules in the gas phase with high-energy electron beams. The electron beams displace an electron from the molecule and leave...
6.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Single-shot dispersion sampling for optical pulse reconstruction.

Optics express·2021
Same author

Probing multiphoton light-induced molecular potentials.

Nature communications·2020
Same author

Threshold photodissociation dynamics of NO<sub>2</sub> studied by time-resolved cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy.

The Journal of chemical physics·2019
Same author

Spatiotemporal imaging of valence electron motion.

Nature communications·2019
Same author

Orientation-dependent stereo Wigner time delay and electron localization in a small molecule.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2018
Same author

Streak Camera for Strong-Field Ionization.

Physical review letters·2017
Same journal

Erratum: Bacterial Turbulence at Compressible Fluid Interfaces [Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 138301 (2026)].

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Unveiling Light-Quark Yukawa Flavor Structure via Dihadron Fragmentation at Lepton Colliders.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Adaptable Route to Fast Coherent State Transport via Bang-Bang-Bang Protocols.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Topological Transition and Emergence of Elasticity of Dislocation in Skyrmion Lattice: Beyond Kittel's Magnetic-Polar Analogy.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Pound-Drever-Hall Method for Superconducting-Qubit Readout.

Physical review letters·2026
Same journal

Coupling a ^{73}Ge Nuclear Spin to an Electrostatically Defined Quantum Dot in Silicon.

Physical review letters·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F&#8722;
06:53

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−

Published on: July 27, 2018

8.8K

Tracking the Ionization Site in Neutral Molecules.

L Ortmann1,2, A AlShafey2, A Staudte3

  • 1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, D-01187 Dresden, Germany.

Physical Review Letters
|December 3, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Strong field ionization of molecules involves two main processes. Researchers found that ionization from the downfield atom is twice as likely as from the upfield atom in N2 molecules.

More Related Videos

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization
08:22

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization

Published on: August 6, 2018

7.0K
Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides
11:04

Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides

Published on: September 7, 2019

9.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F&#8722;
06:53

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−

Published on: July 27, 2018

8.8K
Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization
08:22

Measurement of Ultrafast Vibrational Coherences in Polyatomic Radical Cations with Strong-Field Adiabatic Ionization

Published on: August 6, 2018

7.0K
Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides
11:04

Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides

Published on: September 7, 2019

9.4K

Area of Science:

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics
  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Strong Field Physics

Background:

  • Intense light exposure can cause valence electrons in diatomic molecules to tunnel or evolve adiabatically.
  • Ionization enhancement, where electrons tunnel from an upfield atom, is a key mechanism in molecular strong field ionization.
  • Adiabatic evolution of electron wave functions can lead to ionization from the downfield atom.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a novel method for quantifying the relative contributions of ionization enhancement and adiabatic ionization.
  • To investigate the dominant ionization pathway in diatomic molecules under intense laser fields.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a quantitative method to distinguish between ionization enhancement and adiabatic ionization.
  • Application of the method to experimental data of strong field ionization of N2 molecules using infrared laser light.
  • Analysis of measured electron momenta distributions.

Main Results:

  • A ratio of approximately 2:1 was observed for electrons ionized from the downfield atom compared to the upfield atom in N2.
  • This indicates that adiabatic evolution of the bound state wave function is the predominant ionization pathway.
  • Ionization enhancement, a non-adiabatic process, still contributes to molecular ionization.

Conclusions:

  • The study demonstrates that adiabatic electron wave function evolution largely governs molecular ionization in strong fields.
  • The developed method provides a tool to analyze electron wave packet dynamics in diatomic molecules.
  • Understanding these processes is crucial for advancing the study of molecular ionization.