Femtosecond spectroscopy of cluster anions: insights into condensed-phase phenomena from the gas-phase

Ultrafast spectroscopy allows chemical and physical processes to be observed on time-scales faster than the nuclear motion within molecules. This tutorial review explores how such experiments, and specifically time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy on gas-phase cluster anions, provide a molecular-level understanding of the processes that are normally associated with condensed-phase dynamics.