Time-resolved molecular dynamics using XUV ionization of aligned molecules

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New ultrashort, XUV/X‐ray light sources, such as high‐harmonic generation and several recently commissioned XUV/X‐ray free electron lasers, offer unique new opportunities in the chemical sciences, both on the basis of the pulse durations that can be achieved (which enable studies of electron dynamics on its natural, attosecond, timescale), and on the basis of the high photon energy that is intrinsic to the use of XUV/X‐ray light, which allows to develop new spectroscopies that are based on diffractive, rather than, absorptive properties. In this context, a joint research project between the Max Born Institute in Berlin (Germany) and the University of Szeged (Hungary) is proposed, targeting1. the generation of intense, ultrashort, high photon energy (100‐500 eV) laser pulses by means of twocolor high‐harmonic generation (HHG), and2. the use of these pulses in time‐resolved studies of structural changes in small to medium‐size molecules, making use of the diffraction of photo‐ionized electronsThe project brings together complementary expertise of MBI on molecular imaging using XUV ionization of laser‐aligned molecules, and expertise on (two‐color) high‐harmonic generation by Szeged. Within the project, the outcome of theoretical efforts by the Szeged team will be tested on and transferred to the available experimental infrastructure at MBI. This will be done in the framework of joint experimental work, in the course of which expertise on molecular alignment and imaging will be transferred to Szeged.The project should lead to the development of an original method for making “molecular movies” of chemical transformations.