Researchers have observed a molecule in the first instants after it has absorbed light and tracked the coordinated motion of electrons and nuclei with a temporal resolution of three femtoseconds. This is the result achieved by an international research group led by the Politecnico di Milano, which has developed a new apparatus for studying ultrafast photochemical processes.

The experimental platform achieves a temporal resolution of approximately 3 femtoseconds—one femtosecond is one millionth of one billionth of a second.

The result, published in Nature Communications, was obtained as part of the European ERC Synergy TOMATTO project.