Imaging electronic structure changes in molecules using tailored laser fields

We visualize the motion of nuclei and electrons within molecules when they interact with ultrashort laser pulses.

The absorption of light by a molecule sets its consituents in motion. By observing how electrons and nuclei move inside molecules, we gain a microscopic view of a chemical reaction on the single molecule level. Our goal is accomplished by combining tailored, ultrashort laser pulses with reaction microscopy: each electron and ion prodcued in the interaction of light and matter is detected individually.

The image shows results from our publication [1]. where we image the electron motion that takes place after in an argon ion following ionization by a few-cycle laser pulse. You can watch this as $10^{14}$-fold slow-motion movie on youtube!

Learn more about this work: https://communities.springernature.com/posts/watching-electrons-move-inside-an-atom.

This project is funded by the Germany Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). See https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/437321733.