Attosecond Dynamics of Molecular Electronic Ring Currents

J Phys Chem Lett. 2017 May 18;8(10):2229-2235. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b00877. Epub 2017 May 5.

Abstract

Ultrafast charge migration is of fundamental importance to photoinduced chemical reactions. However, exploring such a quantum dynamical process requires demanding spatial and temporal resolutions. We show how electronic coherence dynamics induced in molecules by a circularly polarized UV pulse can be tracked by using a time-delayed circularly polarized attosecond X-ray pulse. The X-ray probe spectra retrieve an image at different time delays, encoding instantaneous pump-induced circular charge migration information on an attosecond time scale. A time-dependent ultrafast electronic coherence associated with the periodical circular ring currents shows a strong dependence on the helicity of the UV pulse, which may provide a direct approach to access and control the electronic quantum coherence dynamics in photophysical and photochemical reactions in real time.