Super-resolution femtosecond electron diffraction reveals electronic and nuclear dynamics at conical intersections

Hui Jiang, Juanjuan Zhang, Tianyu Wang, Jiawei Peng, Cheng Jin, Xiao Zou, Pengfei Zhu, Tao Jiang, Zhenggang Lan (), Haiwang Yong (), Feng He () and Dao Xiang ()
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Hui Jiang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Juanjuan Zhang: South China Normal University
Tianyu Wang: Collaborative innovation center for IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jiawei Peng: South China Normal University
Cheng Jin: Collaborative innovation center for IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xiao Zou: Collaborative innovation center for IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Pengfei Zhu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Tao Jiang: Collaborative innovation center for IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhenggang Lan: South China Normal University
Haiwang Yong: University of California San Diego
Feng He: Collaborative innovation center for IFSA (CICIFSA), Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Dao Xiang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Conical intersections play a pivotal role in excited-state quantum dynamics. Capturing transient molecular structures near conical intersections remains challenging due to the rapid timescales and subtle structural changes involved. We overcome this by combining the enhanced temporal resolution of mega-electron-volt ultrafast electron diffraction with a super-resolution real-space inversion algorithm, enabling visualization of nuclear and electronic motions at conical intersections with sub-angstrom resolution, surpassing the diffraction limit. We apply this technique to the textbook example of the ring-opening reaction of 1,3-cyclohexadiene, which proceeds through two conical intersections within 100 femtoseconds. The super-resolved transient structures near conical intersections reveal a C-C bond length difference of less than 0.4 Å and an approximately 30-femtosecond traversal time of the nuclear wave packet between them. These findings establish super-resolution ultrafast scattering as a transformative tool for uncovering quantum dynamics in molecules and open new avenues for studying light-matter interactions at the most fundamental level.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61975-9

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