Chiral edge waves in a dance-based human topological insulator.

Topological insulators are insulators in the bulk but feature chiral energy propagation along the boundary. This property is topological in nature and therefore robust to disorder. Originally discovered in electronic materials, topologically protected boundary transport has since been observed in many other physical systems.

Selective bond formation triggered by short optical pulses: quantum dynamics of a four-center ring closure.

We report bond formation induced by an ultrashort UV pulse. The photochemical process is described by quantum dynamics as coherent electronic and nuclear motions during the ultrashort pulse induced ring closure of norbornadiene to quadricyclane. Norbornadiene consists of two ethylene moieties connected by a rigid (CH2)3 bridge.

Temporal and spatially resolved imaging of the correlated nuclear-electronic dynamics and of the ionized photoelectron in a coherently electronically highly excited vibrating LiH molecule.

Few-cycle ultrashort IR pulses allow excitation of coherently coupled electronic states toward steering nuclear motions in molecules. We include in the Hamiltonian the excitation process using an IR pulse of a definite phase between its envelope and carrier wave and provide a quantum mechanical description of both multiphoton excitation and ionization. We report on the interplay between these two processes in shaping the ensuing coupled electronic-nuclear dynamics in both the neutral excited electronic states and the cationic states of the diatomic molecule LiH.