2.1 Time Resolved XUV-Science

We combine XUV pulses as short as 100 attoseconds (1/10-th of a millionth of a billionth of a second!) with few-cycle visible or near-infrared (NIR) pulses. We use the pulses to explore – and eventually steer in real-time – the electronic motion in isolated systems. Helped by advanced theory tools, we aim to provide a detailed understanding of the collective and correlated electron dynamics in molecules and nano-particles exposed to strong laser fields.

We aim at better understanding of strongly-coupled electron and nuclear dynamics at conical intersection in neutral molecules. Conical intersections are ubiquitous in nature. They govern many elementary photophysical and photochemical processes, pertinent to a large number of research areas, from astrophysics, astrochemistry, and atmospheric chemistry, to biochemistry and biology to synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry. In this context, XUV and X-ray pulses are particularly useful due to the strong localization of inner-shell orbitals they probe. XUV and X-ray transitions are element-specific and chemically selective. The inner-shell binding energies show characteristic chemical shifts and provide a local probe of the bonding environment of the reporter atom. Time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy enables the “real-time” and real-space investigation of ultrafast photochemical reactions.

We investigate the femtosecond relaxation dynamics following interaction of molecules and nanoparticles with ultrashort XUV and X-ray pulses. Our goal is to understand photoionization and fragmentation mechanisms of isolated systems at these wavelengths.