Diffractive Imaging of Coherent Nuclear Motion in Isolated Molecules

Observing the motion of the nuclear wavepackets during a molecular reaction, in both space and time, is crucial for understanding and controlling the outcome of photoinduced chemical reactions. We have imaged the motion of a vibrational wavepacket in isolated iodine molecules using ultrafast electron diffraction with relativistic electrons. The time-varying interatomic distance was measured with a precision 0.07 {AA} and temporal resolution of 230 fs full-width at half-maximum (FWHM). The method is not only sensitive to the position but also the shape of the nuclear wavepacket.