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  4. Visualizing the strong field–induced molecular breakup of C <sub>60</sub> via x-ray diffraction
 
research article

Visualizing the strong field–induced molecular breakup of C 60 via x-ray diffraction

Schnorr, Kirsten
•
Augustin, Sven
•
Saalmann, Ulf
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November 21, 2025
Science Advances

Laser-driven dynamics in polyatomic molecules poses a complex many-body problem. Understanding intense light-matter interaction is crucial for steering intramolecular quantum dynamical processes. Here, we record time-resolved x-ray diffraction images of C 60 molecules during and after their interaction with intense near-infrared fields, giving direct access to structural changes of the molecules and their fragmentation in real time. Tuning the intensity of the excitation pulses, we uncover a transition from a weak-field regime of excited but stable molecules to a high-field regime dominated by Coulomb explosion. In the transition region, the molecules expand by up to 50% of their initial size within just 140 fs, with major fragmentation only setting in afterward. This work demonstrates that x-ray diffractive imaging is capable of retrieving time-resolved structural information of large molecules reshaped by intense laser fields. Laser-driven fragmentation is a first step toward observing molecular processes modified by laser fields of increasing intensity.

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