Director emeritus: Prof. Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kompa

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The Laser Chemistry Emeritus Group analyses chemical reaction processes with the aid of modern ultrashort-time laser spectroscopy. The use of extremely short laser pulses, with pulse lengths in the range of femtoseconds (1 fs = 10 ^-15 s), enables the formation and breaking of chemical bonds to be observed in real time. With this extremely high temporal resolution reactions that were earlier described simply as bond fractures reveal a series of intermediate structures which not only refine the observations of the reaction, but also open up possibilities of controlling the reaction system.

 

Specifically, ring opening and ring closure reactions of medium-sized molecules taking place at ultrahigh speed via conical intersections between the respective potential surfaces have been investigated. In other experiments laser pulses were modulated through a suitable interface, in order to influence the interaction of the laser beam with the molecules. The aim of this direction of research in the quantum dynamics of multiparticle systems is to increase the efficiency of certain chemical conversions. Another area of research is the use of molecules to store information in quantum computers.

 

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