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Weizmann Institute of Science |
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Contact Information Tel : 972-8-9343967 Secretariat: |
Current Research Interests The structure of small molecules in gas phase represent an area of active research
as these molecules constitute few body systems which are supposed to be
amenable to detailed quantum mechanical calculations related to both their
structure and dynamics. A wide range of experimental approaches, usually
focusing on transition energies and rates between different energy levels,
have been developed to study the characteristics of small molecules and very
accurate comparisons with theory have been achieved. A vastly different
experimental approach has been pioneered and developed by the Coulomb
Explosion Imaging experimental group at the Weizmann Institute. This method
provides a direct picture of the molecular structure - not only the mean
configuration but the density function of all possible configurations.
Individual fast molecules impinge upon a very thin foil where they loose
their binding electrons. Each such molecule carries its particular
configuration of atoms which are now all positively charged and spread by repultion, carrying their configuration information into
the specially designed detectors. Thus, each molecule reveals its structure
which is recorded for many thosands such events.
This unique information is transformed into the probability function of
finding the examined molecules in different geometries and compared with
theoretical estimations.
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