| 1. |
- Borne, Kurtis D., et al.
(författare)
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Ultrafast electronic relaxation pathways of the molecular photoswitch quadricyclane
- 2024
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Ingår i: NATURE CHEMISTRY. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 16, s. 499-505
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The light-induced ultrafast switching between molecular isomers norbornadiene and quadricyclane can reversibly store and release a substantial amount of chemical energy. Prior work observed signatures of ultrafast molecular dynamics in both isomers upon ultraviolet excitation but could not follow the electronic relaxation all the way back to the ground state experimentally. Here we study the electronic relaxation of quadricyclane after exciting in the ultraviolet (201 nanometres) using time-resolved gas-phase extreme ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy combined with non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. We identify two competing pathways by which electronically excited quadricyclane molecules relax to the electronic ground state. The fast pathway (<100 femtoseconds) is distinguished by effective coupling to valence electronic states, while the slow pathway involves initial motions across Rydberg states and takes several hundred femtoseconds. Both pathways facilitate interconversion between the two isomers, albeit on different timescales, and we predict that the branching ratio of norbornadiene/quadricyclane products immediately after returning to the electronic ground state is approximately 3:2.
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| 2. |
- Allum, Felix, et al.
(författare)
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Coulomb explosion imaging of CH3I and CH2CII photodissociation dynamics
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 149:20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The photodissociation dynamics of CH3I and CH2CII at 272 nm were investigated by time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging, with an intense non-resonant 815nmprobe pulse. Fragment ion momenta over a widem/z range were recorded simultaneously by coupling a velocity map imaging spectrometer with a pixel imaging mass spectrometry camera. For both molecules, delay-dependent pump-probe features were assigned to ultraviolet-induced carbon-iodine bond cleavage followed by Coulomb explosion. Multi-mass imaging also allowed the sequential cleavage of both carbon-halogen bonds in CH2ClI to be investigated. Furthermore, delay-dependent relative fragment momenta of a pair of ions were directly determined using recoil-frame covariance analysis. These results are complementary to conventional velocity map imaging experiments and demonstrate the application of time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging to photoinduced real-time molecular motion.
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| 3. |
- Amini, Kasra, et al.
(författare)
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Alignment, orientation, and Coulomb explosion of difluoroiodobenzene studied with the pixel imaging mass spectrometry (PImMS) camera
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 147:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Laser-induced adiabatic alignment and mixed-field orientation of 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene (C6H3F2I) molecules are probed by Coulomb explosion imaging following either near-infrared strong-field ionization or extreme-ultraviolet multi-photon inner-shell ionization using free-electron laser pulses. The resulting photoelectrons and fragment ions are captured by a double-sided velocity map imaging spectrometer and projected onto two position-sensitive detectors. The ion side of the spectrometer is equipped with a pixel imaging mass spectrometry camera, a time-stamping pixelated detector that can record the hit positions and arrival times of up to four ions per pixel per acquisition cycle. Thus, the time-of-flight trace and ion momentum distributions for all fragments can be recorded simultaneously. We show that we can obtain a high degree of one-and three-dimensional alignment and mixed-field orientation and compare the Coulomb explosion process induced at both wavelengths.
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| 4. |
- Amini, Kasra, et al.
(författare)
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Photodissociation of aligned CH3I and C6H3F2I molecules probed with time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging by site-selective extreme ultraviolet ionization
- 2018
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Ingår i: Structural Dynamics. - : AIP Publishing. - 2329-7778. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We explore time-resolved Coulomb explosion induced by intense, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) femtosecond pulses from a free-electron laser as a method to image photo-induced molecular dynamics in two molecules, iodomethane and 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene. At an excitation wavelength of 267 nm, the dominant reaction pathway in both molecules is neutral dissociation via cleavage of the carbon-iodine bond. This allows investigating the influence of the molecular environment on the absorption of an intense, femtosecond XUV pulse and the subsequent Coulomb explosion process. We find that the XUV probe pulse induces local inner-shell ionization of atomic iodine in dissociating iodomethane, in contrast to non-selective ionization of all photofragments in difluoroiodobenzene. The results reveal evidence of electron transfer from methyl and phenyl moieties to a multiply charged iodine ion. In addition, indications for ultrafast charge rearrangement on the phenyl radical are found, suggesting that time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging is sensitive to the localization of charge in extended molecules.
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| 5. |
- Bari, Sadia, et al.
(författare)
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Soft X-ray Spectroscopy as a Probe for Gas-Phase Protein Structure : Electron Impact Ionization from Within
- 2018
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Ingår i: Chemistry - A European Journal. - : Wiley. - 0947-6539. ; 24:30, s. 7631-7636
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Preservation of protein conformation upon transfer into the gas phase is key for structure determination of free single molecules, for example using X-ray free-electron lasers. In the gas phase, the helicity of melittin decreases strongly as the protein's protonation state increases. We demonstrate the sensitivity of soft X-ray spectroscopy to the gas-phase structure of melittin cations ([melittin+qH]q+, q=2-4) in a cryogenic linear radiofrequency ion trap. With increasing helicity, we observe a decrease of the dominating carbon 1s-π* transition in the amide C=O bonds for non-dissociative single ionization and an increase for non-dissociative double ionization. As the underlying mechanism we identify inelastic electron scattering. Using an independent atom model, we show that the more compact nature of the helical protein conformation substantially increases the probability for off-site intramolecular ionization by inelastic Auger electron scattering.
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| 6. |
- Boll, Rebecca, et al.
(författare)
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Imaging molecular structure through femtosecond photoelectron diffraction on aligned and oriented gas-phase molecules
- 2014
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Ingår i: Faraday Discussions. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1364-5498. ; 171, s. 57-80
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper gives an account of our progress towards performing femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron diffraction on gas-phase molecules in a pump-probe setup combining optical lasers and an X-ray free-electron laser. We present results of two experiments aimed at measuring photoelectron angular distributions of laser-aligned 1-ethynyl-4-fluorobenzene (C8H5F) and dissociating, laser-aligned 1,4-dibromobenzene (C6H4Br2) molecules and discuss them in the larger context of photoelectron diffraction on gas-phase molecules. We also show how the strong nanosecond laser pulse used for adiabatically laser-aligning the molecules influences the measured electron and ion spectra and angular distributions, and discuss how this may affect the outcome of future time-resolved photoelectron diffraction experiments.
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| 7. |
- Brasse, Felix, et al.
(författare)
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Time-resolved inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy : From a bound molecule to an isolated atom
- 2018
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Ingår i: Physical Review A: covering atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum information. - 2469-9926 .- 2469-9934. ; 97:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to its element and site specificity, inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy is a widely used technique to probe the chemical structure of matter. Here, we show that time-resolved inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy can be employed to observe ultrafast chemical reactions and the electronic response to the nuclear motion with high sensitivity. The ultraviolet dissociation of iodomethane (CH3I) is investigated by ionization above the iodine 4d edge, using time-resolved inner-shell photoelectron and photoion spectroscopy. The dynamics observed in the photoelectron spectra appear earlier and are faster than those seen in the iodine fragments. The experimental results are interpreted using crystal-field and spin-orbit configuration interaction calculations, and demonstrate that time-resolved inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy is a powerful tool to directly track ultrafast structural and electronic transformations in gas-phase molecules.
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| 8. |
- Burt, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Coulomb-explosion imaging of concurrent CH2BrI photodissociation dynamics
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Review A: covering atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum information. - 2469-9926 .- 2469-9934. ; 96:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dynamics following laser-induced molecular photodissociation of gas-phase CH2BrI at 271.6 nm were investigated by time-resolved Coulomb-explosion imaging using intense near-IR femtosecond laser pulses. The observed delay-dependent photofragment momenta reveal that CH2BrI undergoes C-I cleavage, depositing 65.6% of the available energy into internal product states, and that absorption of a second UV photon breaks the C-Br bond of C(H)2Br. Simulations confirm that this mechanism is consistent with previous data recorded at 248 nm, demonstrating the sensitivity of Coulomb-explosion imaging as a real-time probe of chemical dynamics.
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| 9. |
- Egorov, Dmitrii, et al.
(författare)
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Near-Edge Soft X-ray Absorption Mass Spectrometry of Protonated Melittin
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1044-0305. ; 29:11, s. 2138-2151
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have investigated the photoionization and photofragmentation yields of gas-phase multiply protonated melittin cations for photon energies at the K-shell absorption edges of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Two similar experimental approaches were employed. In both experiments, mass selected [melittin+qH]q+ (q=2–4) ions were accumulated in radiofrequency ion traps. The trap content was exposed to intense beams of monochromatic soft X-ray photons from synchrotron beamlines and photoproducts were analyzed by means of time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Mass spectra were recorded for fixed photon energies, and partial ion yield spectra were recorded as a function of photon energy. The combination of mass spectrometry and soft X-ray spectroscopy allows for a direct correlation of protein electronic structure with various photoionization channels. Non-dissociative single and double ionization are used as a reference. The contribution of both channels to various backbone scission channels is quantified and related to activation energies and protonation sites. Soft X-ray absorption mass spectrometry combines fast energy deposition with single and double ionization and could complement established activation techniques. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
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| 10. |
- Ekeberg, Tomas, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Observation of a single protein by ultrafast X-ray diffraction
- 2024
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Ingår i: Light. - : Springer Nature. - 2095-5545 .- 2047-7538. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The idea of using ultrashort X-ray pulses to obtain images of single proteins frozen in time has fascinated and inspired many. It was one of the arguments for building X-ray free-electron lasers. According to theory, the extremely intense pulses provide sufficient signal to dispense with using crystals as an amplifier, and the ultrashort pulse duration permits capturing the diffraction data before the sample inevitably explodes. This was first demonstrated on biological samples a decade ago on the giant mimivirus. Since then, a large collaboration has been pushing the limit of the smallest sample that can be imaged. The ability to capture snapshots on the timescale of atomic vibrations, while keeping the sample at room temperature, may allow probing the entire conformational phase space of macromolecules. Here we show the first observation of an X-ray diffraction pattern from a single protein, that of Escherichia coli GroEL which at 14 nm in diameter is the smallest biological sample ever imaged by X-rays, and demonstrate that the concept of diffraction before destruction extends to single proteins. From the pattern, it is possible to determine the approximate orientation of the protein. Our experiment demonstrates the feasibility of ultrafast imaging of single proteins, opening the way to single-molecule time-resolved studies on the femtosecond timescale.
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| 11. |
- Feinberg, Alexandra J., et al.
(författare)
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X-ray diffractive imaging of highly ionized helium nanodroplets
- 2022
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Ingår i: Physical Review Research. - 2643-1564. ; 4:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Finding the lowest energy configuration of N unit charges on a sphere, known as Thomson's problem, is a long-standing query which has only been studied via numerical simulations. We present its physical realization using multiply charged He nanodroplets. The charge positions are determined by x-ray coherent diffractive imaging with Xe as a contrast agent. In neutral droplets, filaments resulting from Xe atoms condensing on quantum vortices are observed. Unique to charged droplets, however, Xe clusters that condense on charges are distributed on the surface in lattice-like structures, introducing He droplets as experimental model systems for the study of Thomson's problem.
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| 12. |
- Forbes, Ruaridh, et al.
(författare)
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Time-resolved site-selective imaging of predissociation and charge transfer dynamics : The CH3I B-band
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-4075 .- 1361-6455. ; 53:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The predissociation dynamics of the 6s (B2E) Rydberg state of gas-phase CH3I were investigated by time-resolved Coulomb-explosion imaging using extreme ultraviolet (XUV) free-electron laser pulses. Inner-shell ionization at the iodine 4d edge was utilized to provide a site-specific probe of the ensuing dynamics. The combination of a velocity-map imaging (VMI) spectrometer coupled with the pixel imaging mass spectrometry (PImMS) camera permitted three-dimensional ionic fragment momenta to be recorded simultaneously for a wide range of iodine charge states. In accord with previous studies, initial excitation at 201.2 nm results in internal conversion and subsequent dissociation on the lower-lying A-state surface on a picosecond time scale. Examination of the time-dependent yield of low kinetic energy iodine fragments yields mechanistic insights into the predissociation and subsequent charge transfer following multiple ionization of the iodine products. The effect of charge transfer was observed through differing delay-dependencies of the various iodine charge states, from which critical internuclear distances for charge transfer could be inferred and compared to a classical over-the-barrier model. Time-dependent photofragment angular anisotropy parameters were extracted from the central slice of the Newton sphere, without Abel inversion, and highlight the effect of rotation of the parent molecule before dissociation, as observed in previous
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| 13. |
- Kockert, Hansjochen, et al.
(författare)
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UV-induced dissociation of CH2BrI probed by intense femtosecond XUV pulses
- 2022
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF PHYSICS B-ATOMIC MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-4075 .- 1361-6455. ; 55:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ultraviolet (UV)-induced dissociation and photofragmentation of gas-phase CH2BrI molecules induced by intense femtosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses at three different photon energies are studied by multi-mass ion imaging. Using a UV-pump-XUV-probe scheme, charge transfer between highly charged iodine ions and neutral CH2Br radicals produced by C-I bond cleavage is investigated. In earlier charge-transfer studies, the center of mass of the molecules was located along the axis of the bond cleaved by the pump pulse. In the present case of CH2BrI, this is not the case, thus inducing a rotation of the fragment. We discuss the influence of the rotation on the charge transfer process using a classical over-the-barrier model. Our modeling suggests that, despite the fact that the dissociation is slower due to the rotational excitation, the critical interatomic distance for charge transfer is reached faster. Furthermore, we suggest that charge transfer during molecular fragmentation may be modulated in a complex way.
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| 14. |
- Lee, Jason W.l., et al.
(författare)
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The Kinetic Energy of PAH Dication and Trication Dissociation Determined by Recoil-Frame Covariance Map Imaging
- 2022
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. - 1463-9084. ; 24:38, s. 23096-23105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated the dissociation of dications and trications of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene. PAHs are a family of molecules ubiquitous in space and involved in much of the chemistry of the interstellar medium. In our experiments, ions are formed by interaction with 30.3 nm extreme ultraviolet (XUV) photons, and their velocity map images are recorded using a PImMS2 multi-mass imaging sensor. Application of recoil-frame covariance analysis allows the total kinetic energy release (TKER) associated with multiple fragmentation channels to be determined to high precision, ranging 1.94-2.60 eV and 2.95-5.29 eV for the dications and trications, respectively. Experimental measurements are supported by Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations.
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| 15. |
- Savelyev, Evgeny, et al.
(författare)
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Jitter-correction for IR/UV-XUV pump-probe experiments at the FLASH free-electron laser
- 2017
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Ingår i: New Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1367-2630. ; 19:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In pump-probe experiments employing a free-electron laser (FEL) in combination with a synchronized optical femtosecond laser, the arrival-time jitter between the FEL pulse and the optical laser pulse often severely limits the temporal resolution that can be achieved. Here, we present a pump-probe experiment on the UV-induced dissociation of 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene (C6H3F2I) molecules performed at the FLASH FEL that takes advantage of recent upgrades of the FLASH timing and synchronization system to obtain high-quality data that are not limited by the FEL arrival-time jitter. We discuss in detail the necessary data analysis steps and describe the origin of the time-dependent effects in the yields and kinetic energies of the fragment ions that we observe in the experiment.
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| 16. |
- Varvarezos, Lazaros, et al.
(författare)
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Near-threshold two-photon double ionization of Kr in the vacuum ultraviolet
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physical Review A. - 2469-9926. ; 103:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report angle-resolved measurements on photoelectrons emitted upon near-threshold two-photon double ionization (TPDI) of Kr irradiated by free-electron laser (FEL) pulses. These photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) are compared with the results of semirelativistic R-matrix calculations. As reported by Augustin et al. [Phys. Rev. A 98, 033408 (2018)10.1103/PhysRevA.98.033408], it is found that the presence of autoionizing resonances within the bandwidth of the exciting FEL pulse strongly influences the PADs. In contrast to measurements on lower-Z targets such as Ne and Ar, the larger spin-orbit interaction, inherent in 4p-subshell hole states of Kr, permits us to resolve and study PADs associated with some of the fine-structure components of the Kr+ and Kr2+ ions.
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