Abstract:
The quantum mechanical description of molecules is based on the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, which assumes a complete separation of electronic and nuclear motion. However, highly efficient photochemical reactions almost always occur through non-adiabatic transitions between electronic states caused by the breakdown of the BO approximation. As an experimental technique for tracking ultrafast processes in the femtosecond region, including non-adiabatic transitions in real time, extreme ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy using high harmonic generation is becoming a new and effective tool. With probe light having a photon energy that far exceeds the ionization energy of the molecule, it is in principle possible to observe non-adiabatic processes involving all electronic states. Furthermore, the combination of extreme ultraviolet light and liquid microjet techniques has enabled the realization of ultrafast photoelectron spectroscopy of liquids. In this lecture, we will introduce research on the application of the same experimental technique, photoelectron spectroscopy, to non-adiabatic processes in both the gas phase and the liquid phase.
Biography:
Toshinori Suzuki obtained his D.Sci. from Tohoku University in 1988. After that, he assumed the position of Assistant Professor at Institute for Molecular Science in 1989. He later became a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University and UC Berkeley in 1990 and 1991, respectively. In 1992, he returned to Institute for Molecular Science as an Associate Professor. In 2002, he became Chief Scientist and Director of Chemical Dynamics Laboratory RIKEN. He has been a Professor of Chemistry at Kyoto University since 2009.
Seminar Series by the NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai
This event is open to the NYU Shanghai, NYU, ECNU community and the computational chemistry community.