Title: Watching Chemistry in Action: Probing Ultrafast Dynamics by Time-Resolved Photoelectron and Ion Imaging

Speaker: Daniel Rolles, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, Germany

Abstract:

Taking a movie of a chemical reaction with atomic resolution? Watching the making and breaking of chemical bonds in real time? Continuing technical advances in the creation of (sub-) femtosecond pulses with optical lasers, high harmonic generation sources, and X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers have turned the vision of “recording a molecular movie” with femtosecond temporal and atomic scale structural resolution into a realistic scenario. In this talk, I will discuss the application of time-resolved photoelectron and ion imaging for visualizing nuclear and electronic dynamics during (photo-)chemical reaction in gas-phase molecules. Such time-resolved experiments open up an exciting new field at the borderline between atomic & molecular physics and physical chemistry which promises to have a profound impact on our understanding of chemical reaction dynamics. I will present first results of pump-probe experiments performed with optical lasers in combination with a Free-Electron Laser, and propose possible extensions to laboratory experiments.

Coffee, tea and cake will be served at 15:05