@article{Driver:2026:10.1038/s41567-026-03360-x,
author = {Driver, T and Guo, Z and Isele, E and Grell, G and Ruberti, M and ONeal, JT and Alexander, O and Beauvarlet, S and Cesar, D and Duris, J and Garratt, D and Larsen, KA and Li, S and Koloren, P and McCracken, GA and Tuthill, D and Wang, Z and Berrah, N and Bostedt, C and Borne, K and Cheng, X and DiMauro, LF and Doumy, G and Franz, PL and Kamalov, A and Li, X and Lin, MF and Obaid, R and Pícon, A and Robles, RR and Rolles, D and Rudenko, A and Shaikh, M and Slaughter, DS and Sudar, NS and Thierstein, E and Ueda, K and Wang, E and Wang, AL and Weber, T and Wolf, TJA and Young, L and Zhang, Z and Averbukh, V and Gessner, O and Bucksbaum, PH and Kling, MF and Palacios, A and Martín, F and Marangos, JP and Walter, P and Marinelli, A and Cryan, JP},
doi = {10.1038/s41567-026-03360-x},
journal = {Nature Physics},
title = {Attosecond response of molecules to impulsive ionization},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03360-x},
year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
AB  - When matter interacts with energetic radiation it can undergo sudden, or impulsive, ionization. This process can drive chemical change and occurs widely in space and planetary atmospheres, yet its comprehensive description challenges our current theoretical and computational capabilities as it requires advanced treatment of electron correlation and nonadiabatic dynamics beyond the Born–Oppenheimer approximation. Here we measure the response of the para-aminophenol molecule to sudden ionization. Using attosecond X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we resolve the ultrafast dynamics of the ionized molecule with atomic precision. A subfemtosecond decay corresponds to states undergoing non-radiative decay, whereas few-femtosecond oscillatory signatures are associated with electronic wavepacket motion in stable cation states that later couple to nuclear motion. We compare our measurement with state-of-the-art computational modelling, qualitatively reproducing the observed response across multiple timescales. These results provide a benchmark for computational models of sudden ionization and ultrafast charge motion in matter.
AU  - Driver,T
AU  - Guo,Z
AU  - Isele,E
AU  - Grell,G
AU  - Ruberti,M
AU  - ONeal,JT
AU  - Alexander,O
AU  - Beauvarlet,S
AU  - Cesar,D
AU  - Duris,J
AU  - Garratt,D
AU  - Larsen,KA
AU  - Li,S
AU  - Koloren,P
AU  - McCracken,GA
AU  - Tuthill,D
AU  - Wang,Z
AU  - Berrah,N
AU  - Bostedt,C
AU  - Borne,K
AU  - Cheng,X
AU  - DiMauro,LF
AU  - Doumy,G
AU  - Franz,PL
AU  - Kamalov,A
AU  - Li,X
AU  - Lin,MF
AU  - Obaid,R
AU  - Pícon,A
AU  - Robles,RR
AU  - Rolles,D
AU  - Rudenko,A
AU  - Shaikh,M
AU  - Slaughter,DS
AU  - Sudar,NS
AU  - Thierstein,E
AU  - Ueda,K
AU  - Wang,E
AU  - Wang,AL
AU  - Weber,T
AU  - Wolf,TJA
AU  - Young,L
AU  - Zhang,Z
AU  - Averbukh,V
AU  - Gessner,O
AU  - Bucksbaum,PH
AU  - Kling,MF
AU  - Palacios,A
AU  - Martín,F
AU  - Marangos,JP
AU  - Walter,P
AU  - Marinelli,A
AU  - Cryan,JP
DO  - 10.1038/s41567-026-03360-x
PY  - 2026///
SN  - 1745-2473
TI  - Attosecond response of molecules to impulsive ionization
T2  - Nature Physics
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-026-03360-x
ER  - 

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