Hamburg, Germany – Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in molecular imaging, capturing the fastest-ever “movie” of a molecule’s internal movements with a time resolution of less than one femtosecond – a quadrillionth of a second. This advancement, detailed in the journal Science, allows researchers to observe the quantum fluctuations within complex molecules, opening new avenues for understanding chemical reactions and material properties.
The research,conducted at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) at DESY in Hamburg,utilized a complex technique combining cutting-edge laser technology,principles of quantum mechanics,and advanced data analysis. Researchers focused on a complex organic molecule, observing its structural dynamics with unprecedented precision. “This allows us to investigate individual molecules,” explained Rebecca Boll, a researcher involved in the study. “In the future, this technique could be applied to study even larger molecules, and the ability to create time-resolved movies of their internal motions is now a reality.”
Michael Meyer, leading scientist at the SQS (squid-like Quantum Sensor) instrument at DESY, highlighted the speed of the process: “And this with a time resolution of less than one femtosecond, that is, within a quadrillionth of a second.” The SQS instrument, commissioned in February 2024, is a key component of the European XFEL facility, enabling these ultra-fast measurements.
Further research is planned, with a follow-up project slated for funding in 2025 through the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. This project will be part of the extended Excellence cluster “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter” based at the University of Hamburg. The CUI cluster is a collaborative effort involving DESY, the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg, and the European XFEL, located in Schenefeld, Germany.
Original publication
Benoît Richard, Rebecca Boll, Sourav Banerjee, Julia M. Schäfer, Zoltan Jurek, Gregor Kastirke, Kilian Fehre, Markus S. Schöffler, Nils Anders, Thomas M. Baumann, Sebastian Eckart, …Rene Wagner, Peter Walter, Pawel Ziolkowski, Artem Rudenko, Michael Meyer, Robin Santra, Ludger Inhester, Till Jahnke; “Imaging collective quantum fluctuations of the structure of a complex molecule”; science, Volume 389
→ full text of the original article.
