Speaker:
Dr. James Cryan
Institution:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University
Date:
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Time:
3:30 pm
Location:
RH 104
Joint Physical Chemistry Seminar of Department of Chemistry and Plasma Physics Seminar of Department of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract:
Electron motion is a key ingredient of chemical reactions and is also the means by which light energy is harnessed in photochemistry. The natural timescale for such electronic motion is typically in the range of tens to hundreds of attoseconds in small molecular systems. Consequently, the study of ultrafast electronic phenomena requires the generation of laser pulses shorter than 1 fs, and of sufficient intensity to interact with their target with high probability. Free Electron Lasers (FELs), such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), are now able to achieve these conditions, allowing for the probing of electron dynamics on this natural time scale, elucidating the earliest processes involved in chemical change.
Electron motion is a key ingredient of chemical reactions and is also the means by which light energy is harnessed in photochemistry. The natural timescale for such electronic motion is typically in the range of tens to hundreds of attoseconds in small molecular systems. Consequently, the study of ultrafast electronic phenomena requires the generation of laser pulses shorter than 1 fs, and of sufficient intensity to interact with their target with high probability. Free Electron Lasers (FELs), such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), are now able to achieve these conditions, allowing for the probing of electron dynamics on this natural time scale, elucidating the earliest processes involved in chemical change.
Host:
Shaul Mukamel
Toshiki Tajima