La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento
Year 2018 - Issue 8 - August
Attosecond spectroscopy of bio-chemically relevant molecules
Authors: F. Calegari, A. Trabattoni, E. Månsson, J. B. Greenwood, P. Decleva, F. Martìn, M. Nisoli
DOI: 10.1393/ncr/i2018-10150-2
pp. 415-461
Published online 23 July 2018
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Abstract: Understanding the role of the electron dynamics in the photo-chemistry of bio-chemically relevant molecules is key to getting access to the fundamental physical processes leading to damage, mutation and, more generally, to the alteration of the final biological functions. Sudden ionization of a large molecule has been proven to activate a sub-femtosecond charge flow throughout the molecular backbone, purely guided by electronic coherences, which could ultimately affect the photochemical response of the molecule at later times. We can follow this ultrafast charge flow in real time by exploiting the extreme time resolution provided by attosecond light sources. In this work recent advances in attosecond molecular physics are presented with particular focus on the investigation of bio-relevant molecules.