Currently Funded Projects:

- Extreme Dynamics

- Time resolved molecular reaction dynamics with fast beam techniques

The objective of the proposed research is to extend the range of investigated
molecular reaction dynamics to include dynamics on superexcited states (SES), in
which the energy stored in the system is in fact high enough to allow electron
emission. Under the Born-Oppenheimer approximation that electron relaxation occurs
on a much faster timescale than nuclear motion – the SES decay process is expected
to be electron emission. Nevertheless, extremely non Born-Oppenheimer dynamics
can allow nuclear motion to compete with electron dynamics on ultrafast timescales,
resulting in molecular fragmentation rather than electron emission. The competition
between different decay mechanisms of superexcited states controls the outcome of
many important chemical reactions, specifically reactions of free electrons with ions
and molecules, such as dissociative recombination, dissociative excitation,
dissociative attachment, electron capture dissociation et cetera. Therefore, it is
imperative to provide experimental, time resolved insights into these processes. The
proposed experiments will use specially prepared fast anion and metastable neutral
beams as platforms for excitation and probing of SES dynamics with fs lasers.
Successful realization of the proposed approach will provide new information about
the time evolution of superexcited states and potentially change our understanding of
the quantum mechanical mechanisms that control extremely non Born-Oppenheimer
chemical reaction dynamics.

- Ultrafast EUV probe project (HHG based single photon CEI)

- Intense interactions with anions