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Christian Metzger

Publications and source records attributed to Christian Metzger.

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Femtosecond concerted rotation of molecules on a 2D material interface

Interfaces between molecules and 2D materials exhibit energy-driven functionalities, wherein charge transfer directs molecular motion. Unlike equilibrium systems, where molecular assemblies settle into static configurations, continuous energy input can drive transient, collective molecular rearrangements. Here, we reveal ultrafast spectroscopic fingerprints of a collective rotational response of molecules on a 2D material following photoexcitation. Our results suggest that photoinduced charge transfer reshapes the interfacial energy potential, giving rise to macroscopic, unidirectional molecular rotation and the formation of a homochiral molecular arrangement. Using a multiplexed ultrafast photoemission spectroscopy approach, we simultaneously track, electronic states, atomic positions, and orbital wavefunctions with femtosecond and sub-{\aa}ngstr\"om resolution. Multimodal valence and core electron emission analysis disentangles the intertwined electronic-structural dynamics of the molecule and the 2D material, revealing the dynamic modulation of charge distribution and intermolecular forces that drive collective molecular motion. Our findings open a pathway for designing energy-driven molecular systems with tunable interfacial dynamics, with potential applications in chiral engineering and active matter systems.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Algorithms and image formation in orbital tomography

Orbital tomography has recently been established as a technique to reconstruct molecular orbitals directly from photoemission data using iterative phase retrieval algorithms. In this work, we present a detailed description of steps for processing of the photoemission data followed by an improved iterative phase retrieval procedure and the interpretation of reconstructed two-dimensional orbital distributions. We address the issue of background subtraction by suggesting a signal restoration routine based on the maximization of mutual information algorithm and solve the problem of finding the geometrical center in the reconstruction by using a tight-centered object support in a two-step phase retrieval procedure. The proposed image processing and improved phase retrieval procedures are used to reconstruct the highest occupied molecular orbital of pentacene on Ag(110), using photoemission data only. The results of the reconstruction agree well with the density functional theory simulation, modified to comply with the experimental conditions. By comparison with photoelectron holography, we show that the reconstructed two-dimensional orbital distribution can be interpreted as a superposition of the in-focus orbital distribution evaluated at the z = 0 plane and out-of-focus distributions evaluated at other z = const planes. Three-dimensional molecular orbital distributions could thus be reconstructed directly from two-dimensional photoemission data, provided the axial resolution of the imaging system is high enough.

physics.chem-ph