Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: In the past few years, attosecond techniques have been implemented for the investigation of ultrafast dynamics in molecules. The generation of isolated attosecond pulses characterized by a relatively high photon flux has opened up new possibilities in the study of molecular dynamics. In this paper, we report on experimental and theoretical results of ultrafast charge dynamics in a biochemically relevant molecule, namely, the amino acid phenylalanine. The data represent the first experimental demonstration of the generation and observation of a charge migration process in a complex molecule, where electron dynamics precede nuclear motion. The application of attosecond technology to the investigation of electron dynamics in biologically relevant molecules represents a multidisciplinary work, which can open new research frontiers: those in which few-femtosecond and even subfemtosecond electron processes determine the fate of biomolecules. It can also open new perspectives for the development of new technologies, for example, in molecular electronics, where electron processes on an ultrafast temporal scale are essential to trigger and control the electron current on the scale of the molecule.
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Laserlab-Europe, Leverhulme Trust, European Commission, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council, European Research Council, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council
Awards: G1859068630, G1910511537, Femto- and attosecond imaging of molecular multiple ionization: Time-resolved electron and nuclear dynamics using free electron lasers and ultra-short pulses, G3446646216, Ultrafast Intra-Molecular Electron Dynamics, G5540482290, G6913825607, Application of Ultrafast Lasers to Probe and Manipulate Surface Catalysis, XUV/X-ray lasers for ultrafast electronic control in chemistry
OpenAlex ID: W2018789481