Mapping Wave Packet Bifurcation at a Conical Intersection in CH3I by Attosecond XUV Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

11 May 2021, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) transient absorption spectroscopy has emerged as a sensitive tool for mapping the real-time structural and electronic evolution of molecules. Here, attosecond XUV transient absorption is used to track dynamics in the A-band of methyl iodide (CH3I). Gaseous CH3I molecules are excited to the A-band by a UV pump (277 nm, ∼20 fs) and probed by attosecond XUV pulses targeting iodine I(4d) core-to-valence transitions. Owing to the excellent temporal resolution of the technique, passage through a conical intersection is mapped through spectral signatures of nonadiabatic wave packet bifurcation observed 15 ± 4 fs following UV photoexcitation. The observed XUV signatures and time dynamics are in agreement with previous simulations [H. Wang, et al. J. Chem. Phys. 151, 124106 (2019)]. Due to the short duration of the UV pump pulse, coherent vibrational motion in the CH3I ground state along the C-I stretch mode (538 ± 7 cm-1) launched by resonant impulsive stimulated Raman scattering and dynamics in multiphoton excited states of CH3I are also detected.

Keywords

molecular dynamics
attosecond science
Photochemistry

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
Supplementary verf
Description
Actions

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.