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Register a new userUltrafast Molecular Imaging by Laser Induced Electron Diffraction
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We address the feasibility of imaging geometric and orbital structure of a polyatomic molecule on an attosecond time-scale using the laser induced electron diffraction (LIED) technique. We present numerical results for the highest molecular orbitals of the CO2 molecule excited by a near infrared few-cycle laser pulse. The molecular geometry (bond-lengths) is determined within 3% of accuracy from a diffraction pattern which also reflects the nodal properties of the initial molecular orbital. Robustness of the structure determination is discussed with respect to vibrational and rotational motions with a complete interpretation of the laser-induced mechanisms.
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We explore the laser-induced ionization dynamics of N2 and CO2 molecules subjected to a few-cycle, linearly polarized, 800,nm laser pulse using effective two-dimensional single active electron time-dependent quantum simulations. We show that the electron recollision process taking place after an initial tunnel ionization stage results in quantum interference patterns in the energy resolved photo-electron signals. If the molecule is initially aligned perpendicular to the field polarization, the position and relative heights of the associated fringes can be related to the molecular geometrical and orbital structure, using a simple inversion algorithm which takes into account the symmetry of the initial molecular orbital from which the ionized electron is produced. We show that it is possible to extract inter-atomic distances in the molecule from an averaged photon-electron signal with an accuracy of a few percents.
In this paper, we discuss the possibility of imaging molecular orbitals from photoelectron spectra obtained via Laser Induced Electron Diffraction (LIED) in linear molecules. This is an extension of our work published recently in Physical Review A textbf{94}, 023421 (2016) to the case of the HOMO-1 orbital of the carbon dioxide molecule. We show that such an imaging technique has the potential to image molecular orbitals at different internuclear distances in a sub-femtosecond time scale and with a resolution of a fraction of an Angstrom.
Visualizing molecular transformations in real-time requires a structural retrieval method with {AA}ngstrom spatial and femtosecond temporal atomic resolution. Imaging of hydrogen-containing molecules additionally requires an imaging method that is sensitive to the atomic positions of hydrogen nuclei, with most methods possessing relatively low sensitivity to hydrogen scattering. Laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED) is a table top technique that can image ultrafast structural changes of gas-phase polyatomic molecules with sub-{AA}ngstrom and femtosecond spatiotemporal resolution together with relatively high sensitivity to hydrogen scattering. Here, we image the umbrella motion of an isolated ammonia molecule (NH$_3$) following its strong field ionization. Upon ionization of a neutral ammonia molecule, the ammonia cation (NH$_3^+$) undergoes an ultrafast geometrical transformation from a pyramidal ($Phi_{HNH} = 107 ^circ$) to planar ($Phi_{HNH}=120^circ$) structure in approximately 8 femtoseconds. Using LIED, we retrieve a near-planar ($Phi_{HNH}=117 pm 5^circ$) field-dressed NH$_3^+$ molecular structure $7.8-9.8$ femtoseconds after ionization. Our measured field-dressed NH$_3^+$ structure is in excellent agreement with our calculated equilibrium field dressed structure using quantum chemical ab initio calculations.
Laser-induced electron diffraction is an evolving tabletop method, which aims to image ultrafast structural changes in gas-phase polyatomic molecules with sub-{AA}ngstrom spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution. Here, we provide the general foundation for the retrieval of multiple bond lengths from a polyatomic molecule by simultaneously measuring the C-C and C-H bond lengths in aligned acetylene. Our approach takes the method beyond the hitherto achieved imaging of simple diatomic molecules and is based upon the combination of a 160 kHz mid-IR few-cycle laser source with full three-dimensional electron-ion coincidence detection. Our technique provides an accessible and robust route towards imaging ultrafast processes in complex gas phase molecules with atto- to femto-second temporal resolution.
Structural information on electronically excited neutral molecules can be indirectly retrieved, largely through pump-probe and rotational spectroscopy measurements with the aid of calculations. Here, we demonstrate the direct structural retrieval of neutral carbonyl disulfide (CS$_2$) in the B$^1$B$_2$ excited electronic state using laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED). We unambiguously identify the ultrafast symmetric stretching and bending of the field-dressed neutral CS$_2$ molecule with combined picometer and attosecond resolution using intrapulse pump-probe excitation and measurement. We invoke the Renner-Teller effect to populate the B$^1$B$_2$ excited state in neutral CS$_2$, leading to bending and stretching of the molecule. Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of LIED in retrieving the geometric structure of CS$_2$, which is known to appear as a two-center scatterer.
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