X-Ray Diffraction from Isolated and Strongly Aligned Gas-Phase Molecules with a Free-Electron Laser (original) (raw)

2014, Physical Review Letters

We report experimental results on x-ray diffraction of quantum-state-selected and strongly aligned ensembles of the prototypical asymmetric rotor molecule 2,5-diiodobenzonitrile using the Linac Coherent Light Source. The experiments demonstrate first steps toward a new approach to diffractive imaging of distinct structures of individual, isolated gas-phase molecules. We confirm several key ingredients of single molecule diffraction experiments: the abilities to detect and count individual scattered x-ray photons in single shot diffraction data, to deliver state-selected, e. g., structural-isomer-selected, ensembles of molecules to the x-ray interaction volume, and to strongly align the scattering molecules. Our approach, using ultrashort x-ray pulses, is suitable to study ultrafast dynamics of isolated molecules. 33.15.Dj, 37.10.-x X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFELs) hold the promise to determine atomically resolved structures and to trace structural dynamics of individual molecules and nanoparticles [1]. Over the last decade, ground-breaking experiments were performed at the Free-Electron Laser at DESY in Hamburg (FLASH) [2-5] and the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory . These experiments already begin to provide new insights into fundamental aspects of matter, such as hitherto unobserved structures of noncrystallizable mesoscopic objects or the radiation damage induced by the short and very strong x-ray pulses . However, the path to actual determination of atomically resolved structures and dynamics of single molecules is still long . Nevertheless, related experiments on the investigation of small-molecule structures and their dynamics utilizing molecular ensembles are within reach .

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