Attosecond Electron Dynamics

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In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Stephen R. Leone of the University of California - Berkeley, together with his postdoctoral and graduate student researchers, will study the dynamics of electrons in atoms, molecules -- from small, xenon difluoride, to large, buckminsterfullerene -- and gold nanoclusters with the new methods of attosecond laser spectroscopy. The goal of this research is to be able to observe the dynamics of the electrons in these species. Electrons are the glue which bind atoms together in chemical bonds and are the principal species in matter that interact with light. A better understanding of the dynamics of these electrons in these species will shed light on electronic processes in matter. The timescale for the dynamics of electrons in atoms, molecules and clusters is on the sub-femtosecond timescale -- a timescale that has been impossible to probe directly until quite recently. Electron dynamics are at the heart of a number of photophysical and photochemical processes. Prof. Leone will continue to mentor undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers in his laboratory -- a large number of which have gone on to jobs in academia and industry. In addition, Prof. Leone plans to continue his outreach with Lowell High School -- a San Francisco City school.