arXiv subjects

Jochen Küpper

Publications and source records attributed to Jochen Küpper.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Hyperfine-resolved rotation-vibration line list of ammonia (NH$_3$)

A comprehensive, hyperfine-resolved rotation-vibration line list for the ammonia molecule ($^{14}$NH$_3$) is presented. The line list, which considers hyperfine nuclear quadrupole coupling effects, has been computed using robust, first principles methodologies based on a highly accurate empirically refined potential energy surface. Transitions between levels with energies below $8000$~cm$^{-1}$ and total angular momentum $F\leq14$ are considered. The line list shows excellent agreement with a range of experimental data and will significantly assist future high-resolution measurements of NH$_3$, both astronomically and in the laboratory.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Knife edge skimming for improved separation of molecular species by the deflector

A knife edge for shaping a molecular beam is described to improve the spatial separation of the species in a molecular beam by the electrostatic deflector. The spatial separation of different molecular species from each other as well as from atomic seed gas is improved. The column density of the selected molecular-beam part in the interaction zone, which corresponds to higher signal rates, was enhanced by a factor of 1.5, limited by the virtual source size of the molecular beam.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2018

Impulsive laser-induced alignment of OCS molecules at FERMI

We demonstrate the experimental realization of impulsive alignment of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) molecules at the Low Density Matter Beamline (LDM) at the free-electron laser FERMI. OCS molecules in a molecular beam were impulsively aligned using 200 fs pulses from a near-infrared laser. The alignment was probed through time-delayed ionization above the sulphur 2p edge, resulting in multiple ionization via Auger decay and subsequent Coulomb explosion of the molecules. The ionic fragments were collected using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and the analysis of ion-ion covariance maps confirmed the correlation between fragments after Coulomb explosion. The analysis of the CO+ and S+ channels allowed us to extract the rotational dynamics, which is in agreement with our theoretical description as well as with previous experiments. This result opens the way for a new class of experiments at LDM within the field of coherent control of molecules with the possibilities that a precisely synchronized optical-pump XUV-probe laser setup like FERMI can offer.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

The rotation-vibration spectrum of methyl fluoride from first principles

Accurate \textit{ab initio} calculations on the rotation-vibration spectrum of methyl fluoride (\ce{CH3F}) are reported. A new nine-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) and dipole moment surface (DMS) have been generated using high-level electronic structure methods. Notably, the PES was constructed from explicitly correlated coupled cluster calculations with extrapolation to the complete basis set limit and considered additional energy corrections to account for core-valence electron correlation, higher-order coupled cluster terms beyond perturbative triples, scalar relativistic effects, and the diagonal Born-Oppenheimer correction. The PES and DMS are evaluated through robust variational nuclear motion computations of pure rotational and vibrational energy levels, the equilibrium geometry of \ce{CH3F}, vibrational transition moments, absolute line intensities of the $ν_6$ band, and the rotation-vibration spectrum up to $J=40$. The computed results show excellent agreement with a range of experimental sources, in particular the six fundamentals are reproduced with a root-mean-square error of 0.69~cm$^{-1}$. This work represents the most accurate theoretical treatment of the rovibrational spectrum of \ce{CH3F} to date.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Analyzing laser-induced alignment of weakly-bound molecular aggregates

The rotational and torsional dynamics of the prototypical floppy $\text{indole}(\text{H}_2\text{O})$ molecular cluster was theoretically and computationally analyzed. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation was solved for a reduced-dimensionality description of the cluster, taking into account overall rotations and the internal rotation of the water moiety. Based on our results, it became clear that coupling between the internal and the overall rotations are small, and that for typical field strengths in alignment and mixed-field orientation experiments the rigid rotor approximation can be employed to describe the investigated dynamics. Furthermore, the parameter space over which this is valid and its boundaries where the coupling of the internal and overall rotation can no longer be neglected were explored.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Photophysics of indole upon x-ray absorption

A photofragmentation study of gas-phase indole (C$_8$H$_7$N) upon single-photon ionization at a photon energy of 420 eV is presented. Indole was primarily inner-shell ionized at its nitrogen and carbon $1s$ orbitals. Electrons and ions were measured in coincidence by means of velocity map imaging. The angular relationship between ionic fragments is discussed along with the possibility to use the angle-resolved coincidence detection to perform experiments on molecules that are strongly oriented in their recoil-frame. The coincident measurement of electrons and ions revealed fragmentation-pathway-dependent electron spectra, linking the structural fragmentation dynamics to different electronic excitations. Evidence for photoelectron-impact self-ionization was observed.

physics.atm-clus↗

arXiv2018

Coherent Control of the Rotation Axis of Molecular Superrotors

The control of ultrafast molecular rotational motion has benefited from the development of innovative techniques in strong-field laser physics. Here, we theoretically demonstrate a novel type of coherent control by inducing rotation of an asymmetric-top molecule about two different molecular axes. An optical centrifuge is applied to the hydrogen sulfide (H$_2$S) molecule to create a molecular superrotor, an object performing ultrafast rotation about a well-defined axis. Using two distinct pulse envelopes for the optical centrifuge, we show that H$_2$S can be excited along separate pathways of rotational states. This leads to stable rotation about two entirely different molecular axes while ensuring rotation is about the propagation direction of the centrifuge, i.e., the laboratory-fixed $Z$-axis. The presented scheme to control the angular momentum alignment of a molecule will, for instance, be useful in studies of molecule-molecule or molecule-surface scattering, especially due to the large amounts of energy associated with superrotors, which can even be controlled by changing the duration of the optical centrifuge pulse.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Optimizing aerodynamic lenses for single-particle imaging

A numerical simulation infrastructure capable of calculating the flow of gas and the trajectories of particles through an aerodynamic lens injector is presented. The simulations increase the fundamental understanding and predict optimized injection geometries and parameters. Our simulation results were compared to previous reports and also validated against experimental data for 500 nm polystyrene spheres from an aerosol-beam- characterization setup. The simulations yielded a detailed understanding of the radial phase-space distribution and highlighted weaknesses of current aerosol injectors for single-particle diffractive imaging. With the aid of these simulations we developed new experimental implementations to overcome current limitations.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2018

Spatially separating the conformers of the dipeptide Ac-Phe-Cys-NH$_\text{2}$

Atomic-resolution-imaging approaches for single molecules, such as coherent x-ray diffraction at free-electron lasers, require the delivery of high-density beams of identical molecules. However, even very cold beams of biomolecules typically have multiple conformational states populated. We demonstrate the production of very cold ($T_\text{rot}\sim2.3~\text{K}$) molecular beams of intact dipeptide molecules, which we then spatially separate into the individual populated conformational states. This is achieved using the combination of supersonic expansion laser-desorption vaporisation with electrostatic deflection in strong inhomogeneous fields. This represents the first demonstration of a conformer-separated and rotationally-cold molecular beam of a peptide, and will enable future single biomolecule x-ray diffraction measurements.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Observation of different reactivities of para- and ortho-water towards cold diazenylium ions

Water, H$_2$O, is one of the fundamental molecules in chemistry, biology and astrophysics. It exists as two distinct nuclear-spin isomers, para- and ortho-water, which do not interconvert in isolated molecules. The experimental challenges in preparing pure samples of the two isomers have thus far precluded a characterization of their individual chemical behaviour. Capitalizing on recent advances in the electrostatic deflection of polar molecules, we separated the ground states of para- and ortho-water in a molecular beam to show that the two isomers exhibit different reactivities in a prototypical reaction with cold diazenylium ions (N$_2$H$^+$). Based on ab initio calculations and a modelling of the reaction kinetics using rotationally adiabatic capture theory, we rationalize this finding in terms of different rotational averaging of ion-dipole interactions during the reaction. The present results highlight the subtle interplay between nuclear-spin and rotational symmetry and its ramifications on chemical reactivity.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Switched Wave Packets with Spectrally Truncated Chirped Pulses

A new technique for obtaining switched wave packets using spectrally truncated chirped laser pulses is demonstrated experimentally and numerically by one-dimensional alignment of both linear and asymmetric top molecules. Using a simple long-pass transmission filter, a pulse with a slow turn on and a rapid turn off is produced. The degree of alignment, characterized by $\langle\cos^2θ_\text{2D}\rangle$ rises along with the pulse intensity and reaches a maximum at the peak of the pulse. After truncation $\langle\cos^2θ_\text{2D}\rangle$ drops sharply but exhibits pronounced half and full revivals. The experimental alignment dynamics trace agrees very well with a numerically calculated trace based on solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. However, the extended periods of field-free alignment of asymmetric tops following pulse truncation reported previously is not reproduced in our work.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Strong laser alignment of solvent-solute aggregates in the gas-phase

Strong quasi-adiabatic laser alignment of the indole-water-dimer clusters, an amino-acid chromophore bound to a single water molecule through a hydrogen bond, was experimentally realized. The alignment was visualized through ion and electron imaging following strong-field ionization. Molecular-frame photoelectron angular distributions showed a clear suppression of electron yield in the plane of the ionizing laser's polarization, which was analyzed as strong alignment of the molecular cluster with $\left< \cos^2θ_{2D} \right> \ge$ 0.9.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Optimized cell geometry for buffer-gas-cooled molecular-beam sources

We have designed, constructed, and commissioned a cryogenic helium buffer-gas source for producing a cryogenially-cooled molecular beam and evaluated the effect of different cell geometries on the intensity of the produced molecular beam, using ammonia as a test molecule. Planar and conical entrance and exit geometries are tested. We observe a three fold enhancement in the NH$_3$ signal for a cell with planar-entrance and conical-exit geometry, compared to that for a typically used `box'-like geometry with planar entrance and exit. These observations are rationalized by flow-field simulations for the different buffer-gas cell geometries. The full thermalization of molecules with the helium buffer-gas is confirmed through rotationally-resolved REMPI spectra yielding a rotational temperature of 5 K.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Development and characterization of a laser-induced acoustic desorption source

A laser-induced acoustic desorption source, developed for use at central facilities, such as free-electron lasers, is presented. It features prolonged measurement times and a fixed interaction point. A novel sample deposition method using aerosol spraying provides a uniform sample coverage and hence stable signal intensity. Utilizing strong-field ionization as a universal detection scheme, the produced molecular plume is characterized in terms of number density, spatial extend, fragmentation, temporal distribution, translational velocity, and translational temperature. The effect of desorption laser intensity on these plume properties is evaluated. While translational velocity is invariant for different desorption laser intensities, pointing to a non-thermal desorption mechanism, the translational temperature increases significantly and higher fragmentation is observed with increased desorption laser fluence.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2018

Probing the UV-Induced Photodissociation of CH$_\text{3}$I and C$_\text{6}$H$_\text{3}$F$_\text{2}$I with Femtosecond Time-Resolved Coulomb Explosion Imaging at FLASH

We explore time-resolved Coulomb explosion induced by intense, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) femtosecond pulses from the FLASH free-electron laser as a method to image photo-induced molecular dynamics in two molecules, iodomethane and 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene. At an excitation wavelength of 267\,nm, the dominant reaction pathway in both molecules is neutral dissociation via cleavage of the carbon--iodine bond. This allows investigating the influence of the molecular environment on the absorption of an intense, femtosecond XUV pulse and the subsequent Coulomb explosion process. We find that the XUV probe pulse induces local inner-shell ionization of atomic iodine in dissociating iodomethane, in contrast to non-selective ionization of all photofragments in difluoroiodobenzene. The results reveal evidence of electron transfer from methyl and phenyl moieties to a multiply charged iodine ion. In addition, indications for ultrafast charge rearrangement on the phenyl radical are found, suggesting that time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging is sensitive to the localization of charge in extended molecules.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2018

Femtosecond x-ray diffraction from an aerosolized beam of protein nanocrystals

We demonstrate near-atomic-resolution Bragg diffraction from aerosolized single granulovirus crystals using an x-ray free-electron laser. The form of the aerosol injector is nearly identical to conventional liquid-microjet nozzles, but the x-ray-scattering background is reduced by several orders of magnitude by the use of helium carrier gas rather than liquid. This approach provides a route to study the weak diffuse or lattice-transform signal arising from small crystals. The high speed of the particles is particularly well suited to upcoming MHz-repetition-rate x-ray free-electron lasers.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2017

Separating Para and Ortho Water

Water exists as two nuclear-spin isomers, para and ortho, determined by the overall spin of its two hydrogen nuclei. For isolated water molecules the conversion between these isomers is forbidden and they act as different molecular species. Yet, these species are not readily separable, and little is known about their specific physical and chemical properties, conversion mechanisms, or interactions. Here we demonstrate the production of isolated samples of both spin isomers in pure beams of para and ortho water, with both species in their respective absolute ground state. These single-quantum-state samples are ideal targets for unraveling spin-conversion mechanisms, for precision spectroscopy and fundamental-symmetry-breaking studies, and for spin-enhanced applications, e. g., laboratory astrophysics and -chemistry or hypersensitized NMR experiments.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2017

Coulomb explosion imaging of concurrent CH$_{2}$BrI photodissociation dynamics

The dynamics following laser-induced molecular photodissociation of gas-phase CH$_{2}$BrI at 271.6 nm were investigated by time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging using intense near-IR femtosecond laser pulses. The observed delay-dependent photofragment momenta reveal that CH$_{2}$BrI undergoes C-I cleavage, depositing 65.6% of the available energy into internal product states, and that absorption of a second UV photon breaks the C-Br bond of CH$_{2}$Br. Simulations confirm that this mechanism is consistent with previous data recorded at 248 nm, demonstrating the sensitivity of Coulomb explosion imaging as a real-time probe of chemical dynamics.

physics.chem-ph↗