Ultrafast spectroscopy of aromatic amino acids and their chromophores in the condensed phase

Speaker:  Gaurav Kumar, USC

Program Description:
Understanding how the electronic structure of an aqueous solute is intricately bound up with the arrangement of a host liquid provides insight into how non-adiabatic photochemistry takes place in the condensed phase. The photophysical and photochemical behavior of aromatic amino acids and their chromophores have been central to the understanding of important biological functions/pathways; they have drawn considerable attention from researchers, triggering molecular level studies pertaining to their electronic structure and intricate excited state dynamics. Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (TRPES) in a liquid microjet as well as transient absorption (TA) are implemented to investigate the influence of water on the electronic structure and dynamics of these biomolecules. We explored ultrafast relaxation pathways that vary as a function of excitation wavelength for tryptophan and the parent indole.