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arXiv · 2610.10981

Visualizing Three-Dimensional Quantum Fluctuations of Ground-State C$_3$H$_4$ via Deep Sub-Angstrom Coulomb Explosion Imaging

Mei Wang·Yue Gao·Hang Yuan·Yang Wang·Bo Yang·Shaofei Gu·Shaofeng Zhang·Xinwen Ma·Shenyue Xu
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Abstract

Coulomb explosion imaging (CEI) is a powerful tool for determining static geometries of isolated gas-phase molecules. In this work, taking allene and propyne as prototype, we demonstrate sub-angstrom resolution achieved with highly charged ion-induced CEI. Using 41.9 keV/u Xe$^{20+}$ beam, minute variations of CC single, double and triple bond lengths are clearly visualized, indicating that an ultrahigh resolution of 0.1 $\mathring{\mathrm{A}}$ is achieved. This unprecedented resolution not only makes it possible to distinguish CC bonds with different bond orders, but also lays a solid foundation for direct observation of quantum fluctuations inherent to 3D structure of a ground-state molecule. Notably, the coupled collective motion of the two CH$_2$ moieties spaced by a central carbon within allene is unambiguously visualized in our measurements.

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Mei Wang, Yue Gao, Hang Yuan, Yang Wang, Bo Yang, Shaofei Gu, Shaofeng Zhang, Xinwen Ma, Shenyue Xu. 2026-10-07. Visualizing Three-Dimensional Quantum Fluctuations of Ground-State C$_3$H$_4$ via Deep Sub-Angstrom Coulomb Explosion Imaging. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10981

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