Speaker: Elio Champenois, LBL
Program Description
Non-adiabatic dynamics have emerged as a dominant mechanism for photochemical reactions in most molecular systems following electronic excitation. Studying these dynamics is difficult due to the time scales and energies involved as well as the high dimensionality of the problem. In this talk, we present some studies of such dynamics in small molecules, including ethylene and methanol, by using a vacuum (VUV) or extreme (XUV) ultraviolet light pump-probe scheme and a time-resolved photo-ion and -electron imaging technique. The VUV/XUV intensity needed for such an experiment is achieved through a high flux, high repetition rate High Harmonic Generation setup. Going beyond the identification of excited state lifetimes, the extraction of the energy dependent signal onset times in the experimental time-resolved photoelectron spectra allows for the tracking of the excited wavepacket with sub-pulse duration, few-femtosecond sensitivity.
