3D Electron Orbitals Captured in Photos

One of the most famous and intriguing results of quantum mechanics is the finding that fundamental particles, such as electrons, cannot be pinned down to one single location. Instead, a particle is described by its "wavefunction", which allows researchers to derive probability distributions - a sort of mathematical map that shows the possibilities - of fundamental properties such as its position and momentum. In particular, the electron wavefunctions within a molecule, known as "molecular orbitals", carry information about how the molecule interacts with its surroundings. For example, it shows how it may absorb light or how a chemical reaction might take place. As a consequence, knowledge of the complete three-dimensional wavefunction is highly desirable, but imaging the wavefunction has proven to be a major experimental challenge. An interdisciplinary research team at the University of G ttingen has now managed to image the three-dimensional wavefunction of a nanometer-sized organic molecule. They overcame the limitations by combining state-of-the-art photoelectron spectroscopy with powerful mathematical algorithms. The results were published in Nature Communications.