Two-dimensional stimulated resonance Raman spectroscopy of molecules with broadband x-ray pulses.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Expressions for the two-dimensional stimulated x-ray Raman spectroscopy (2D-SXRS) signal obtained using attosecond x-ray pulses are derived. The 1D- and 2D-SXRS signals are calculated for trans-N-methyl acetamide (NMA) with broad bandwidth (181 as, 14.2 eV FWHM) pulses tuned to the oxygen and nitrogen K-edges. Crosspeaks in 2D signals reveal electronic Franck-Condon overlaps between valence orbitals and relaxed orbitals in the presence of the core-hole.
Project description:We report a combined molecular dynamics (MD) and ab initio simulation study of the ultrafast broadband ultraviolet (UV) stimulated resonance Raman (SRR) spectra of the Trp-cage mini protein. Characteristic two dimensional (2D) SRR features of various folding states are identified. Structural fluctuations erode the cross peaks and the correlation between diagonal peaks is a good indicator of the ?-helix formation.
Project description:Spontaneous Raman spectroscopy is a formidable tool to probe molecular vibrations. Under electronic resonance conditions, the cross section can be selectively enhanced enabling structural sensitivity to specific chromophores and reaction centers. The addition of an ultrashort, broadband femtosecond pulse to the excitation field allows for coherent stimulation of diverse molecular vibrations. Within such a scheme, vibrational spectra are engraved onto a highly directional field, and can be heterodyne detected overwhelming fluorescence and other incoherent signals. At variance with spontaneous resonance Raman, however, interpreting the spectral information is not straightforward, due to the manifold of field interactions concurring to the third order nonlinear response. Taking as an example vibrational spectra of heme proteins excited in the Soret band, we introduce a general approach to extract the stimulated Raman excitation profiles from complex spectral lineshapes. Specifically, by a quantum treatment of the matter through density matrix description of the third order nonlinear polarization, we identify the contributions which generate the Raman bands, by taking into account for the cross section of each process.
Project description:Long-range electron transfer (ET) is a crucial step in many energy conversion processes and biological redox reactions in living organisms. We show that newly developed X-ray pulses can directly probe the evolving oxidation states and the electronic structure around selected atoms with detail not available through conventional time-resolved infrared or optical techniques. This is demonstrated in a simulation study of the stimulated X-ray Raman (SXRS) signals in Re-modified azurin, which serves as a benchmark system for photoinduced ET in proteins. Nonlinear SXRS signals offer a direct novel window into the long-range ET mechanism.
Project description:We introduce a general theoretical description of non resonant impulsive femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy in a multimode harmonic model. In this technique an ultrashort actinic pulse creates coherences of low frequency modes and is followed by a paired narrowband Raman pulse and a broadband probe pulse. Using closed-time-path-loop (CTPL) diagrams, the response on both the red and the blue sides of the broadband pulse with respect to the narrowband Raman pulse is calculated, the process couples high and low frequency modes, which share the same ground state. The transmitted intensity oscillates between the red and the blue side, while the total number of photons is conserved. The total energy of the probe signal is periodically modulated in time by the coherence created in the low frequency modes.
Project description:Hard X-ray spectroscopy is an element specific probe of electronic state, but signals are weak and require intense light to study low concentration samples. Free electron laser facilities offer the highest intensity X-rays of any available light source. The light produced at such facilities is stochastic, with spikey, broadband spectra that change drastically from shot to shot. Here, using aqueous ferrocyanide, we show that the resonant X-ray emission (RXES) spectrum can be inferred by correlating for each shot the fluorescence intensity from the sample with spectra of the fluctuating, self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) source. We obtain resolved narrow and chemically rich information in core-to-valence transitions of the pre-edge region at the Fe K-edge. Our approach avoids monochromatization, provides higher photon flux to the sample, and allows non-resonant signals like elastic scattering to be simultaneously recorded. The spectra obtained match well with spectra measured using a monochromator. We also show that inaccurate measurements of the stochastic light spectra reduce the measurement efficiency of our approach.
Project description:Understanding the interaction of intense, femtosecond X-ray pulses with heavy atoms is crucial for gaining insights into the structure and dynamics of matter. One key aspect of nonlinear light-matter interaction was, so far, not studied systematically at free-electron lasers-its dependence on the photon energy. Here, we use resonant ion spectroscopy to map out the transient electronic structures occurring during the complex charge-up pathways of xenon. Massively hollow atoms featuring up to six simultaneous core holes determine the spectra at specific photon energies and charge states. We also illustrate how different X-ray pulse parameters, which are usually intertwined, can be partially disentangled. The extraction of resonance spectra is facilitated by the possibility of working with a constant number of photons per X-ray pulse at all photon energies and the fact that the ion yields become independent of the peak fluence beyond a saturation point. Our study lays the groundwork for spectroscopic investigations of transient atomic species in exotic, multiple-core-hole states that have not been explored previously.
Project description:We present simulations of one and two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) and stimulated resonance Raman (SRR) spectra of the dark state (pG) and early red-shifted intermediate (pR) of photoactive yellow protein (PYP). Shifts in the amide I and Glu46 COOH stretching bands distinguish between pG and pR in the IR absorption and 2DIR spectra. The one-dimensional SRR spectra are similar to the spontaneous RR spectra. The two-dimensional SRR spectra show large changes in cross peaks involving the C=O stretch of the two species and are more sensitive to the chromophore structure than 2DIR spectra.
Project description:We report an ab-initio simulation study of the ultrafast broad bandwidth ultraviolet (UV) stimulated resonance Raman spectra (SRRS) of L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan and trans-L-tryptophan-L-tyrosine (WY) dipeptide. Two-pulse one-dimensional (1D) SRRS and three-pulse 2D SRRS that reveal inter- and intra-residue vibrational coorelations are simulated using electronically resonant or preresonant pulse configurations that select the Raman signal and discriminate against excited state pathways. Multimode effects are incorporated via the cumulant expansion. The 2D SRRS technique is more sensitive to residue couplings than spontaneous Raman.
Project description:We present 2D terahertz-terahertz-Raman (2D TTR) spectroscopy, the first technique, to our knowledge, to interrogate a liquid with multiple pulses of terahertz (THz) light. This hybrid approach isolates nonlinear signatures in isotropic media, and is sensitive to the coupling and anharmonicity of thermally activated THz modes that play a central role in liquid-phase chemistry. Specifically, by varying the timing between two intense THz pulses, we control the orientational alignment of molecules in a liquid, and nonlinearly excite vibrational coherences. A comparison of experimental and simulated 2D TTR spectra of bromoform (CHBr3), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and dibromodichloromethane (CBr2Cl2) shows previously unobserved off-diagonal anharmonic coupling between thermally populated vibrational modes.
Project description:Two-dimensional Raman-terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is presented as a multidimensional spectroscopy directly in the far-IR regime. The method is used to explore the dynamics of the collective intermolecular modes of liquid water at ambient temperatures that emerge from the hydrogen-bond networks water forming. Two-dimensional Raman-THz spectroscopy interrogates these modes twice and as such can elucidate couplings and inhomogeneities of the various degrees of freedoms. An echo in the 2D Raman-THz response is indeed identified, indicating that a heterogeneous distribution of hydrogen-bond networks exists, albeit only on a very short 100-fs timescale. This timescale appears to be too short to be compatible with more extended, persistent structures assumed within a two-state model of water.