Imaging CS2 Molecules in Intense Laser Fields with Ultrafast Electron Diffraction

It has been previously demonstrated that ultrafast electron diffraction from aligned molecules (UEDAM) can resolve ground state molecular structures with atomic resolution. Here we use UEDAM to investigate the dynamics in carbon disulfide (CS2) following the interaction with an intense femtosecond IR laser pulse. The atomic positions in transient states are imaged with 0.03{\AA} precision and 1ps temporal resolution. Alignment, structural deformation and dissociation are observed in molecular images under different laser intensities. This proof-of-principle work demonstrates the capability of studying molecular dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution using UEDAM.