Attosecond spectroscopy of molecular charge transfer uncovers a 1.5-fs delay in population transfer.

ABSTRACT: The transfer of population between two intersecting quantum states is the most fundamental event in many dynamical processes in physics, chemistry, biology, and material science. Any two-state description of such processes requires population leaving one state to instantaneously appear in the other. We show that coupling to additional states, present in all real-world systems, can cause a measurable delay in population transfer. Using attosecond spectroscopy supported by quantum-chemical calculations, we measure a delay of 1.46 ± 0.41 fs at a charge-transfer crossing in CF₃I⁺, where an electron hole moves from the fluorine atoms to iodine. Our measurements also resolve the other fundamental quantum-dynamical processes involved in the charge-transfer reaction: a vibrat

SUBMITTER: Matselyukh DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12325650 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature