Auger-induced charge migration

Open Access

Abstract

Novel perspectives of controlling molecular systems have recently arisen from the possibility of generating attosecond pulses in the ultraviolet regime and tailoring electron dynamics in its natural time scale. The cornerstone mechanism is the so-called charge migration, he production of a coherent charge transfer with subfemtosecond oscillations across a molecule. Typically, charge migration is induced by the ionization of valence molecular orbitals. However, recent technological developments allow the generation of attosecond pulses in the x-ray regime. In this case, the absorption of photons creates core-hole states. In light elements, core-hole states mainly decay by Auger processes that, driven by electron correlations, involve valence orbitals. We theoretically demonstrate in a fluoroacetylene molecule a double-hole charge migration triggered by attosecond core-electron photoionization, followed by Auger electron relaxations. This opens a new route for inducing with x rays charge transfer processes in the subfemtosecond time scale ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 702565, from Comunidad de Madrid through the TALENTO program with Reference No. 2017-T1/IND-5432, and from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences through Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. We acknowledge support from Junta de Castilla y León (Project No. SA046U16) and MINECO (Grant No. FIS2016- 75652-P). C.H.-G. acknowledges support from a 2017 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, BBVA Foundation