Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - Bat. 3R4 - 118 route de Narbonne - 31062 Toulouse Cedex 09 - France


Home > Publications > Publications by year > Year 2006

Visualizing picometric quantum ripples of ultrafast wave-packet interference

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.

View online : Science 311, 1589 (2006)