1. |
- Borne, Kurtis D., et al.
(author)
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Ultrafast electronic relaxation pathways of the molecular photoswitch quadricyclane
- 2024
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In: NATURE CHEMISTRY. - : Springer Nature. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 16, s. 499-505
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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. |
- Fushitani, Mizuho, et al.
(author)
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Time-resolved photoelectron imaging of complex resonances in molecular nitrogen
- 2021
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In: The Journal of chemical physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 154:14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have used the FERMI free-electron laser to perform time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiments on a complex group of resonances near 15.38 eV in the absorption spectrum of molecular nitrogen, N2, under jet-cooled conditions. The new data complement and extend the earlier work of Fushitani et al. [Opt. Express 27, 19702–19711 (2019)], who recorded time-resolved photoelectron spectra for this same group of resonances. Time-dependent oscillations are observed in both the photoelectron yields and the photoelectron angular distributions, providing insight into the interactions among the resonant intermediate states. In addition, for most states, we observe an exponential decay of the photoelectron yield that depends on the ionic final state. This observation can be rationalized by the different lifetimes for the intermediate states contributing to a particular ionization channel. Although there are nine resonances within the group, we show that by detecting individual photoelectron final states and their angular dependence, we can identify and differentiate quantum pathways within this complex system.
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3. |
- Fushitani, Mizuho, et al.
(author)
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Wave packet dynamics and control in excited states of molecular nitrogen
- 2024
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In: The Journal of chemical physics. - 0021-9606. ; 160:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Wave packet interferometry with vacuum ultraviolet light has been used to probe a complex region of the electronic spectrum of molecular nitrogen, N2. Wave packets of Rydberg and valence states were excited by using double pulses of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), free-electron-laser (FEL) light. These wave packets were composed of contributions from multiple electronic states with a moderate principal quantum number (n ∼ 4-9) and a range of vibrational and rotational quantum numbers. The phase relationship of the two FEL pulses varied in time, but as demonstrated previously, a shot-by-shot analysis allows the spectra to be sorted according to the phase between the two pulses. The wave packets were probed by angle-resolved photoionization using an infrared pulse with a variable delay after the pair of excitation pulses. The photoelectron branching fractions and angular distributions display oscillations that depend on both the time delays and the relative phases of the VUV pulses. The combination of frequency, time delay, and phase selection provides significant control over the ionization process and ultimately improves the ability to analyze and assign complex molecular spectra.
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4. |
- Kumar Maroju, Praveen, et al.
(author)
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Attosecond pulse shaping using a seeded free-electron laser
- 2020
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 578, s. 386-391
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Attosecond pulses are central to the investigation of valence- and core-electron dynamics on their natural timescales. The reproducible generation and characterization of attosecond waveforms has been demonstrated so far only through the process of high-order harmonic generation. Several methods for shaping attosecond waveforms have been proposed, including the use of metallic filters, multilayer mirrors and manipulation of the driving field. However, none of these approaches allows the flexible manipulation of the temporal characteristics of the attosecond waveforms, and they suffer from the low conversion efficiency of the high-order harmonic generation process. Free-electron lasers, by contrast, deliver femtosecond, extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray pulses with energies ranging from tens of microjoules to a few millijoules. Recent experiments have shown that they can generate subfemtosecond spikes, but with temporal characteristics that change shot-to-shot. Here we report reproducible generation of high-energy (microjoule level) attosecond waveforms using a seeded free-electron laser. We demonstrate amplitude and phase manipulation of the harmonic components of an attosecond pulse train in combination with an approach for its temporal reconstruction. The results presented here open the way to performing attosecond time-resolved experiments with free-electron lasers.
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5. |
- Maroju, Praveen K., et al.
(author)
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A Novel Attosecond Timing Tool for Free-Electron Laser Experiment
- 2020
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In: High Intensity Lasers and High Field Phenomena 2020. - 9781943580736
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate a novel timing tool for Free-Electron Lasers to determine the delay between an attosecond pulse train and infrared pulse with sub-optical-cycle resolu-. tion.
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6. |
- Nandi, Saikat, et al.
(author)
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Generation of entanglement using a short-wavelength seeded free-electron laser
- 2024
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In: SCIENCE ADVANCES. - 2375-2548. ; 10:16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Quantum entanglement between the degrees of freedom encountered in the classical world is challenging to observe due to the surrounding environment. To elucidate this issue, we investigate the entanglement generated over ultrafast timescales in a bipartite quantum system comprising two massive particles: a free-moving photoelectron, which expands to a mesoscopic length scale, and a light-dressed atomic ion, which represents a hybrid state of light and matter. Although the photoelectron spectra are measured classically, the entanglement allows us to reveal information about the dressed-state dynamics of the ion and the femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses delivered by a seeded free-electron laser. The observed generation of entanglement is interpreted using the time-dependent von Neumann entropy. Our results unveil the potential for using short-wavelength coherent light pulses from free-electron lasers to generate entangled photoelectron and ion systems for studying spooky action at a distance.
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7. |
- Nandi, Saikat, et al.
(author)
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Unraveling Rabi dynamics with a seeded FEL at XUV wavelength
- 2023
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In: 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference, CLEO/Europe-EQEC 2023. - 9798350345995
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rabi oscillations, a prominent feature of coherent light-matter interaction arise when a two-level system interacts periodically with an external electromagnetic field [1]. Despite being a cornerstone in quantum physics, they are usually studied in the long-wavelength region, ranging from mid-infrared to visible. Here, we demonstrate that intense femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) pulses from FERMI seeded free-electron laser [2] can drive Rabi oscillations between the two levels: 1s2 and 1s4p in helium.
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8. |
- Wituschek, Andreas, et al.
(author)
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High-gain harmonic generation with temporally overlapping seed pulses and application to ultrafast spectroscopy
- 2020
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In: Optics Express. - 1094-4087. ; 28, s. 29976-90
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Collinear double-pulse seeding of the High-Gain Harmonic Generation (HGHG) process in a free-electron laser (FEL) is a promising approach to facilitate various coherent nonlinear spectroscopy schemes in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range. However, in collinear arrangements using a single nonlinear medium, temporally overlapping seed pulses may introduce nonlinear mixing signals that compromise the experiment at short time delays. Here, we investigate these effects in detail by extending the analysis described in a recent publication (Wituschek et al., Nat. Commun., 11, 883, 2020). High-order fringe-resolved autocorrelation and wave packet interferometry experiments at photon energies > 23 eV are performed, accompanied by numerical simulations. It turns out that both the autocorrelation and the wave-packet interferometry data are very sensitive to saturation effects and can thus be used to characterize saturation in the HGHG process. Our results further imply that time-resolved spectroscopy experiments are feasible even for time delays smaller than the seed pulse duration.
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9. |
- Wituschek, Andreas, et al.
(author)
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Tracking attosecond electronic coherences using phase-manipulated extreme ultraviolet pulses
- 2020
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The recent development of ultrafast extreme ultraviolet (XUV) coherent light sources bears great potential for a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of matter. Promising routes are advanced coherent control and nonlinear spectroscopy schemes in the XUV energy range, yielding unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. However, their implementation has been hampered by the experimental challenge of generating XUV pulse sequences with precisely controlled timing and phase properties. In particular, direct control and manipulation of the phase of individual pulses within an XUV pulse sequence opens exciting possibilities for coherent control and multidimensional spectroscopy, but has not been accomplished. Here, we overcome these constraints in a highly time-stabilized and phase-modulated XUV-pump, XUV-probe experiment, which directly probes the evolution and dephasing of an inner subshell electronic coherence. This approach, avoiding any XUV optics for direct pulse manipulation, opens up extensive applications of advanced nonlinear optics and spectroscopy at XUV wavelengths.
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