Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy
Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy

3.1 Dynamics of Condensed Phase Molecular Systems

Project coordinators: E. T. J. Nibbering, O. Kornilov

Recent Highlights

Quantum state mixing in photobiology – new insight from ultrafast terahertz Stark spectroscopy

The membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin is a proton pump, in which proton transport is initiated by the light-induced isomerization of the chromophore…

A new dynamic probe of electric forces between molecules

Molecules in water and other polar media are subject to strong electric forces. Such forces originate from their liquid environment, which at ambient…

Magnesium ions slow down water dynamics on short length scales

The presence of ions affects the structure and dynamics of water on a multitude of length and time scales. New results from ultrafast spectroscopy and…

Watching the fate of molecular nitrogen with X-rays, when an electron has been kicked out

The observation of lasing in the forward direction in air upon focusing intense femtosecond light pulses has been a puzzling phenomenon since first…

How far can a proton make its presence felt when embedded in water?

Proton hydration, i.e. the involvement of a certain number of water molecules in solvating an excess proton, has been an intensively investigated…

An ultrafast X-ray glance into photoacid electronic structure

Photoacids are molecules that release a proton upon electronic excitation, thus enhancing the acidity of a liquid. Pioneering work by Theodor Förster…

Magnesium contact ions stabilize the macromolecular structure of transfer RNA

In cells transfer RNA (tRNA) translates genetic information from the encoding messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein synthesis. New results from ultrafast…

Forward or backward? New pathways for protons in water or methanol

A collaborative ultrafast spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations study, as recently published by scientists of the Max Born…

New dynamic probes for ions interacting with biomolecules

Pairs of negatively charged phosphate groups and positive magnesium ions represent a key structural feature of DNA and RNA embedded in water.…

Looking at molecules from two sides with table-top femtosecond soft-X-rays

X-ray spectroscopy provides direct access into the nature of chemical bonds, from which the outcome of chemical reactions can be understood. For this,…

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