111 research outputs found
High-repetition-rate and high-photon-flux 70 eV high-harmonic source for coincidence ion imaging of gas-phase molecules
Unraveling and controlling chemical dynamics requires techniques to image
structural changes of molecules with femtosecond temporal and picometer spatial
resolution. Ultrashort-pulse x-ray free-electron lasers have significantly
advanced the field by enabling advanced pump-probe schemes. There is an
increasing interest in using table-top photon sources enabled by high-harmonic
generation of ultrashort-pulse lasers for such studies. We present a novel
high-harmonic source driven by a 100 kHz fiber laser system, which delivers
10 photons/s in a single 1.3 eV bandwidth harmonic at 68.6 eV. The
combination of record-high photon flux and high repetition rate paves the way
for time-resolved studies of the dissociation dynamics of inner-shell ionized
molecules in a coincidence detection scheme. First coincidence measurements on
CHI are shown and it is outlined how the anticipated advancement of fiber
laser technology and improved sample delivery will, in the next step, allow
pump-probe studies of ultrafast molecular dynamics with table-top XUV-photon
sources. These table-top sources can provide significantly higher repetition
rates than the currently operating free-electron lasers and they offer very
high temporal resolution due to the intrinsically small timing jitter between
pump and probe pulses
High-Gain Harmonic Generation with temporally overlapping seed pulses and application to ultrafast spectroscopy
Collinear double-pulse seeding of the High-Gain Harmonic Generation (HGHG)
process in a free-electron laser (FEL) is a promising approach to facilitate
various coherent nonlinear spectroscopy schemes in the extreme ultraviolet
(XUV) spectral range. However, in collinear arrangements using a single
nonlinear medium, temporally overlapping seed pulses may introduce nonlinear
mixing signals that compromise the experiment at short time delays. Here, we
investigate these effects in detail by extending the analysis described in a
recent publication (Wituschek et al., Nat. Commun., 11, 883, 2020). High-order
fringe-resolved autocorrelation and wave-packet interferometry experiments at
photon energies > eV are performed, accompanied by numerical simulations.
It turns out that both the autocorrelation and the wave-packet interferometry
data are very sensitive to saturation effects and can thus be used to
characterize saturation in the HGHG process. Our results further imply that
time-resolved spectroscopy experiments are feasible even for time delays
smaller than the seed pulse duration.Comment: This is accepted version of the article. The Version of Record is
available online at https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.40124
Electronic Quantum Coherence in Glycine Molecules Probed with Ultrashort X-ray Pulses in Real Time
Structural changes in nature and technology are driven by charge carrier
motion. A process such as charge-directed reactivity that can be operational in
radiobiology is more efficient, if energy transfer and charge motion proceeds
along well-defined quantum mechanical pathways keeping the coherence and
minimizing dissipation. The open question is: do long-lived electronic quantum
coherences exist in complex molecules? Here, we use x-rays to create and
monitor electronic wave packets in the amino acid glycine. The outgoing
photoelectron wave leaves behind a positive charge formed by a superposition of
quantum mechanical eigenstates. Delayed x-ray pulses track the induced
electronic coherence through the photoelectron emission from the sequential
double photoionization processes. The observed sinusoidal modulation of the
detected electron yield as a function of time clearly demonstrates that
electronic quantum coherence is preserved for at least 25 femtoseconds in this
molecule of biological relevance. The surviving coherence is detected via the
dominant sequential double ionization channel, which is found to exhibit a
phase shift as a function of the photoelectron energy. The experimental results
agree with advanced ab-initio simulations.Comment: 54 pages, 11 figure
Auger electron wave packet interferometry on extreme timescales with coherent soft x rays
Wave packet interferometry provides benchmark information on light-induced electronic quantum states by monitoring their relative amplitudes and phases during coherent excitation, propagation,and decay. The relative phase control of soft x-ray pulse replicas on the single-digit attosecond timescale achieved in our experiments makes this method a powerful tool to probe ultrafast quantum phenomena such as the excitation of Auger shake-up states with sub-cycle precision. In this contribution we present first results obtained for different Auger decay channels upon generating L-shell vacancies in argon atoms using Michelson-type all-reflective interferometric autocorrelation at a central free-electron laser photon energy of 274.7 eV
Charge induced chemical dynamics in glycine probed with time resolved Auger electron spectroscopy
In the present contribution, we use x rays to monitor charge induced chemical dynamics in the photoionized amino acid glycine with femtosecond time resolution. The outgoing photoelectron leaves behind the cation in a coherent superposition of quantum mechanical eigenstates. Delayed x ray pulses track the induced coherence through resonant x ray absorption that induces Auger decay. Temporal modulation of the Auger electron signal correlated with specific ions is observed, which is governed by the initial electronic coherence and subsequent vibronic coupling to nuclear degrees of freedom. In the time resolved x ray absorption measurement, we monitor the time frequency spectra of the resulting many body quantum wave packets for a period of 175 fs along different reaction coordinates. Our experiment proves that by measuring specific fragments associated with the glycine dication as a function of the pump probe delay, one can selectively probe electronic coherences at early times associated with a few distinguishable components of the broad electronic wave packet created initially by the pump pulse in the cation. The corresponding coherent superpositions formed by subsets of electronic eigenstates and evolving along parallel dynamical pathways show different phases and time periods in the range of amp; 8722;0.3 0.1 amp; 120587; amp; 8804; amp; 120601; amp; 8804; 0.1 0.2 amp; 120587; and 18.2 1.7 amp; 8722;1.4 amp; 8804; amp; 119879; amp; 8804;23.9 1.2 amp; 8722;1.1 fs. Furthermore, for long delays, the data allow us to pinpoint the driving vibrational modes of chemical dynamics mediating charge induced bond cleavage along different reaction coordinate
Electronic quantum coherence in glycine molecules probed with ultrashort x ray pulses in real time
Here, we use x rays to create and probe quantum coherence in the photoionized amino acid glycine. The outgoing photoelectron leaves behind the cation in a coherent superposition of quantum mechanical eigenstates. Delayed x ray pulses track the induced coherence through resonant x ray absorption that induces Auger decay and by photoelectron emission from sequential double photoionization. Sinusoidal temporal modulation of the detected signal at early times 0 to 25 fs is observed in both measurements. Advanced ab initio many electron simulations allow us to explain the first 25 fs of the detected coherent quantum evolution in terms of the electronic coherence. In the kinematically complete x ray absorption measurement, we monitor its dynamics for a period of 175 fs and observe an evolving modulation that may implicate the coupling of electronic to vibronic coherence at longer time scales. Our experiment provides a direct support for the existence of long lived electronic coherence in photoionized biomolecule
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Thomson Scattering at FLASH - Status Report
The basic idea is to implement Thomson scattering with free electron laser (FEL) radiation at near-solid density plasmas as a diagnostic method which allows the determination of plasma temperatures and densities in the warm dense matter (WDM) regime (free electron density of n{sub e} = 10{sup 21}-10{sup 26} cm{sup -3} with temperatures of several eV). The WDM regime [1] at near-solid density (n{sub e} = 10{sup 21}-10{sup 22} cm{sup -3}) is of special interest because, it is where the transition from an ideal plasma to a degenerate, strongly coupled plasma occurs. A systematic understanding of this largely unknown WDM domain is crucial for the modeling and understanding of contemporary plasma experiments, like laser shock-wave or Z-pinch experiments as well as for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments as the plasma evolution follows its path through this domain
Formation of coherent rotational wavepackets in small molecule-helium clusters using impulsive alignment
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