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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/M001644/1
Title: Ultrafast Intra-Molecular Electron Dynamics
Principal Investigator: Greenwood, Dr JB
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Polytechnic University of Milan
Department: Sch of Mathematics and Physics
Organisation: Queen's University of Belfast
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 January 2015 Ends: 30 June 2016 Value (£): 100,885
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Gas & Solution Phase Reactions Light-Matter Interactions
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
08 May 2014 EPSRC Physical Sciences Physics - May 2014 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
The study of dynamic processes in nature continues to breach new frontiers as the timescales and dimensions under investigation shrink. These advances have gone hand-in-hand with generation of ever shorter light pulses from conventional laser and accelerator based sources, which are exploited as ultrafast strobes for observing the dynamics of matter. While the motion of atoms can now be tracked with femtosecond pulses of light, the recent advent of attosecond pulses (a billion billionth of a second) has the potential to capture the movement of electrons. The ability to observe and control this quantum electronics will be essential for the future understanding and exploitation of electrical, chemical, and biological processes in natural and synthetic nano-structures.

In this project, coherent charge dynamics in some exemplar biological frameworks, amino acids and small peptides, will be generated and observed using a state-of-the-art attosecond laser. These laboratory measurements will probe the ultrafast movement of charge created by ionising radiation from which some of the remarkable electrical properties of these complex biological molecules will be discerned. Ultimately, the pathways for understanding the role of the underlying molecular structures and methods for quantum control of the electrons will be investigated.

Key Findings
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Organisation Website: http://www.qub.ac.uk