Lorenzo Pratolli

Doctoral project

Attosecond charge dynamics in bio-relevant molecules solvated in water and other complex systems

The research project consists of the design of a beam-line combining few-femtosecond near-infrared (NIR) and extreme ultraviolet XUV pulses to investigate the electron and charge dynamics in biologically relevant molecules, such as amino acids, in aqueous environments.  The project includes the development of a monochromator to spectrally select individual harmonics produced through the strong-field process of high-harmonic generation (HHG), in order to greatly improve the spectral resolution of the pump-probe measurements. Collaboration with the group Prof. Johnsson will take place in Lund using their ultrafast VUV/XUV beamline, thus probing the photoinduced dynamics with greater spectral resolution while keeping the time resolution in the order of the femtosecond. Both in Hamburg and Lund, the covariance mapping detection method will allow to explore simultaneously the dynamics of both photoelectrons and ions produced through target ionization, thus enabling a thorough exploration of the electron and charge dynamics triggered in the system. The combination of femtosecond, monochromatised XUV and NIR pulses will allow for an innovative approach that will unravel the mechanisms of ultrafast molecular dynamics in water-clustered systems.