A perspective for investigating photo-induced molecular dynamics from within with femtosecond free electron lasers

Abstract

Photo-induced molecular dynamics can now be investigated using free electron lasers (FELs) whose attributes are unprecedented brightness, few femtosecond pulses duration and in the near future few hundreds of attosecond pulse duration. These relatively new tools are utilized to investigate photon-induced physical and chemical processes by ionizing inner-shell electrons and thus unlocking molecular dynamics from within.