Attosecond Laser Pulses Probe Molecular Dissociation (IMAGE)

University of California - Berkeley

Attosecond Laser Pulses Probe Molecular Dissociation

Caption

UC Berkeley scientists are probing the fleeting steps in rapid photochemical reactions with some of the shortest laser pulses possible today. In this case, a femtosecond pulse of visible light (green) triggers the breakup of iodine monobromide molecules (center), while attosecond XUV laser pulses (blue) take snapshots of the molecules. This allows them to make a movie of the evolution of electronic states (yellow lights around molecules) before the molecules blow apart.

Credit

Yuki Kobayashi, UC Berkeley

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