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arXiv · 1412.1300

High-order harmonic spectroscopy for molecular imaging of polyatomic molecules

M. Negro·M. Devetta·D. Faccialà·S. De Silvestri·C. Vozzi·S. Stagira
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Abstract

High-order harmonic generation is a powerful and sensitive tool for probing atomic and molecular structures, combining in the same measurement an unprecedented attosecond temporal resolution with a high spatial resolution, of the order of the angstrom. Imaging of the outermost molecular orbital by high-order harmonic generation has been limited for a long time to very simple molecules, like nitrogen. Recently we demonstrated a technique that overcame several of the issues that have prevented the extension of molecular orbital tomography to more complex species, showing that molecular imaging can be applied to a triatomic molecule like carbon dioxide. Here we report on the application of such technique to nitrous oxide (N2O) and acetylene (C2H2). This result represents a first step towards the imaging of fragile compounds, a category which includes most of the fundamental biological molecules.

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M. Negro, M. Devetta, D. Faccialà, S. De Silvestri, C. Vozzi, S. Stagira. 2014-12-03. High-order harmonic spectroscopy for molecular imaging of polyatomic molecules. https://doi.org/10.1039/c4fd00033a

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