Probing fast nuclear wavepackets in light molecules: monitoring structural rearrangement on an attosecond timescale

A new technique for probing the structural rearrangements of molecules following ionization has recently been demonstrated. Whilst straightforward to implement, this technique offers remarkable time resolution, allowing intramolecular nuclear dynamics to be followed with a precision of 100 as. Here we discuss this technique, termed PACER (probing attosecond dynamics by chirp encoded recollision), examine the processes that a. ect the measurement, and compare the technique to alternative methods for probing vibrational wavepackets in light molecules.