Ultrafast light pulses track molecular motion with three-femtosecond resolution - Phys.org
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Acetylacetone short-timescales deactivation mechanism. Credit: Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-76602-4
Researchers have observed a molecule in the first instants after it has absorbed light and tracked the coordinated motion of electrons and nuclei with a temporal resolution of three femtoseconds. This is the result achieved by an international research group led by the Politecnico di Milano, which has developed a new apparatus for studying ultrafast photochemical processes.
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Data availabilitySource data are provided with this paper. Additional data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon request. ReferencesKrausz, F. & Ivanov, M. Attosecond physics. Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 163–234 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.81.163 (2009). Article Corkum, P. B. Plasma perspective on strong field multiphoton ionization. Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1994–1997 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.1994 (1993). Article
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