Imaging correlated nuclear motion mediated by passage through a conical intersection

Imaging correlated nuclear motion mediated by passage through a conical intersection | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Imaging correlated nuclear motion mediated by passage through a conical intersection Daniel Rolles, Tu Nguyen, Smita Ganguly, Sajed Hosseini-Zavareh, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9283888/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Observing coupled electronic and nuclear dynamics, and the flow of energy between electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom during photochemical reactions, remains a central challenge in ultrafast chemistry. Here, we combine time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging with ab initio quantum wavepacket calculations to resolve the nonadiabatic dynamics of UV-excited NO 2 as it evolves toward and relaxes through a conical intersection. Excitation at 400 nm, just below the dissociation threshold, launches large-amplitude vibrational motion that explores extended regions of the ground-state potential energy surface following electronic relaxation. Coincident fragment-ion momenta reveal a highly delocalized nuclear wavepacket with correlated bending and asymmetric-stretch motion, providing direct insight into ultrafast vibrational energy redistribution predicted by theory. Physical sciences/Physics/Atomic and molecular physics/Atomic and molecular interactions with photons Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Chemical physics nonadiabatic molecular dynamics Coulomb explosion imaging photochemistry ultrafast molecular dynamics wavepacket imaging Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files 2025NO2JRMLTuSI.pdf Supplemental Information for the article Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9283888","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629075308,"identity":"ebf86fdf-49b0-4af3-a03d-ef3b081f806d","order_by":0,"name":"Daniel 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