Ultrafast electron dynamics in phenylalanine initiated by attosecond pulses

Calegari, Francesca; Ayuso, David; Trabattoni, Andrea; Belshaw, Louise; Camillis, Simone De; Anumula, S.; Frassetto, Fabio; Poletto, Luca; Palacios, Alicia; Decleva, Piero; Greenwood, J. B.; Martı́n, Fernando; Nisoli, M.

doi:10.1126/science.1254061

articleScienceOct 16, 2014GREEN OA

Ultrafast electron dynamics in phenylalanine initiated by attosecond pulses

FCFrancesca Calegari DADavid Ayuso ATAndrea Trabattoni LBLouise Belshaw SDSimone De Camillis

Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie · Universidad Autónoma de Madrid · +4 more institutions

PubMed

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Abstract

In the past decade, attosecond technology has opened up the investigation of ultrafast electronic processes in atoms, simple molecules, and solids. Here, we report the application of isolated attosecond pulses to prompt ionization of the amino acid phenylalanine and the subsequent detection of ultrafast dynamics on a sub-4.5-femtosecond temporal scale, which is shorter than the vibrational response of the molecule. The ability to initiate and observe such electronic dynamics in polyatomic molecules represents a crucial step forward in attosecond science, which is progressively moving toward the investigation of more and more complex systems.

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Topics & keywords

Topics

Keywords

Attosecond
Ultrashort pulse
Femtosecond
Electron
Ionization
Atomic physics
Polyatomic ion
Molecule

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