Visualizing Picometric Quantum Ripples of Ultrafast Wave-Packet Interference
Hiroyuki Katsuki,1,2,3
Hisashi Chiba,1,2
Bertrand Girard,4
Christoph Meier,4*
Kenji Ohmori1,2,3*
Interference fringes in vibrating molecules are a signature
of quantum mechanics, but are often so short-lived and closely
spaced that they elude visualization. We have experimentally
visualized dynamical quantum interferences, which appear and
disappear in less than 100 femtoseconds in the iodine molecule
synchronously with the periodic crossing of two counterpropagating
nuclear wave packets. The obtained images have picometer and
femtosecond spatiotemporal resolution, representing a detailed
picture of the quantum interference.
2 Core Research for Evolution of Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan.
3 The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Myodaiji, Okazaki 444–8585, Japan.
4 Laboratoire Collisions, Agrégats, Réactivité, CNRS UMR 5589, Institut de Recherche sur les Systèmes Atomiques et Moléculaires Complexes, Université Paul Sabatier–Toulouse 3, France.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: chris{at}irsamc.ups-tlse.fr (C.M.), ohmori{at}ims.ac.jp (K.O.)
