Do nuclei move on an attosecond timescale in strong-field photodissociation?

COFFEE_KLATCH  · Invited

Abstract

Without the ready availability of single attosecond pulses with sufficient energy to perform pump-probe experiments, the push to measure electronic dynamics on its natural timescale of attoseconds has enlisted less direct measurements. Photoionization ``time delays'', in particular, have been measured and calculated to be on the attosecond timescale and thus have attracted considerable attention. The ultimate goal of such attosecond-scale measurements is the molecular movie\,---\,{\em i.e.}, making movies of the electronic motion during chemical reactions. It has been universally assumed, however, that any measured attosecond timescales in observables relate exclusively to electronic dynamics, even during a reaction which necessarily includes nuclear motion. I will explore some of the limits of this assumption and highlight a few specific cases where it fails, emphasizing in the process that phases should be favored over ``time delays''.

*Supported by the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy

Authors

  • B.D. Esry

    • J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506
    • J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506
    • J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Kansas State University
    • J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Kansas State University