ATTO-CONTROL · Attosecond X-ray Molecular Dynamics and Strong-Field Control
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2019-05-20 → 2022-05-19
- EU contribution
- €245,732
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Attosecond X-ray Molecular Dynamics and Strong-Field Control
The development in recent years of ultrashort pulsed light sources in the attosecond/sub-femtosecond timescale has opened new avenues for the investigation in real-time of electronic and nuclear dynamics characterizing photochemical reactions. Such reactions, including biological reactions, such as e. g. those related to DNA damage and mutations, are triggered when light energy is absorbed by a molecule leading to a temporarily excited state that alters the physical and chemical properties of the molecules. The overall objective of this project is to understand and ultimately control photochemical reactions in excited states of polyatomic molecules. Two top-notch experimental methods are employed to achieve this goal: attosecond XUV transient absorption at the University of California at Berkeley (United States) and three-color femtosecond pump-probe velocity map imaging at Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). Ultrafast XUV transient absorption spectroscopy has been successfully employed to observe and characterize vibrational coherent motion on a molecular excited state as well as to unravel the electronic and nuclear dynamics e. g. at a conical intersection or through internal conversion, characterizing the photodissociation of different molecular targets.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The development in recent years of ultrashort light sources in the attosecond regime has opened new avenues for the investigation of electronic and nuclear dynamics. In particular, the current development of UV-XUV or UV-X-ray pump-probe schemes with subfemtosecond temporal resolution represents a doorway to study chemical reactions in excited states of molecules in real-time, including biological reactions, such as e.g. those related to DNA damage and mutations. The aim of this project is to understand and ultimately control photochemical reactions in excited states of polyatomic molecules, especially relating to two fundamental processes in biology and chemistry: (i) cis-trans photoisomerization and (ii) the internal conversion of pi-pi*/n-pi* states in organic chromophores. Two top-notch experimental methods will be employed to achieve this goal: attosecond X-ray transient absorption (X-ATAS) at the University of California at Berkeley (United States), where the fellowship will be carried out under the supervision of Prof. S. Leone, and three-color femtosecond pump-probe velocity map imaging (fs-VMI) at Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), where the incoming phase will take place under the supervision of Prof. L. Bañares. The project is divided in three specific objectives and work-packages. Firstly, the powerful X-ATAS method will be employed to observe dynamics in real-time through individual carbon atom spectra and disentangle the dynamics underlying these processes in two polyatomic targets –nitroethylene and transbutadiene– and two bio-relevant ones –thymine and citosine. Secondly, attosecond control in real-time using X-ATAS on the pi-pi*/ n-pi* internal conversion in thymine will be performed in a pioneering experiment. Finally, effective femtosecond control with fs-VMI of these processes in nitroethylene and trans-butadiene, molecules of interest for technologies, will be performed based on the relevant results from the X-ATAS experiments.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID · MadridCoordinatorSpain
- THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA · OaklandUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union