Single Molecule Dynamics with Joint Angstrom-Femtosecond Resolution

ORAL

Abstract

The investigation of single molecule dynamics with joint spatial-temporal resolution pushes the limit of measurement in nanoscale phenomena. By shining femtosecond laser pulse pairs with adjustable time delay into the junction of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with an adsorbed molecule on the surface, the dynamics of its chemical transformation can be followed in space-time. As an example, we probe the reversible conformational change in an isolated pyrrolidine molecule adsorbed on a Cu (100) surface. A periodic, decaying oscillation was observed in the transition rate as a function of the time delay, thereby revealing that the conformational change was coherently driven by the excitation of a particular vibrational mode in the molecule. The atomic scale resolution was demonstrated by observing the influence on the dynamics of a molecule by a nearby molecule.

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Presenters

  • Siyu Chen

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine

Authors

  • Siyu Chen

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine

  • Shaowei Li

    Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Likun Wang

    Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine

  • Jie Li

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine

  • Ruqian Wu

    Univ of California - Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine, University of California, Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, Physics, Univ of California - Irvine

  • Wilson Ho

    Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, Univ of California - Irvine, Physics, Univ of California - Irvine, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Univ of California - Irvine