A new 'molecular attoscope' can film the motion of electrons inside a neutral molecule in less than a billionth of a billionth of a second.
This device simultaneously traces electronic motion at 856 attoseconds and nuclear motion at 36 femtoseconds. This level of detail was previously impossible to capture in neutral molecules like benzene without turning them into ions first. Scientists can now watch the 'dance' between electrons and nuclei as it happens in real-time. Understanding these split-second movements is essential for controlling chemical reactions at their most fundamental level. This technology could lead to the development of new materials and drugs by showing exactly how bonds form and break. It provides a front-row seat to the most basic events in the physical world.
Molecular Attoscope: Pulse Shape Spectroscopy of Electronic Coherence
arXiv · 2605.03298
Tracking the coupled motion of electrons and nuclei on their intrinsic timescales is essential to understanding and controlling photochemical transformations. While attosecond techniques have provided unprecedented insight into electronic dynamics, they have largely been restricted to ionic systems, with nuclear motion often neglected or indirectly inferred. Here, we demonstrate a ``molecular attoscope", which uses shaped laser pulses in the deep ultraviolet to perform a coherent measurement of