The structural dynamics of matter induced by powerful and most often femtosecond laser pulses is manifested in an atomic-molecular "movie", a collection of processes the exploration of which is of immense interest for modern natural science. Studying this global phenomenon requires an ultra-high spatiotemporal resolution that involves the development of dedicated research methods. Laser spectroscopy may be used to determine energy states of samples and track their evolution in time; however, the structural dynamics of matter can only be extracted from that information by indirect methods. We present here direct techniques for studying laser-perturbed substances in the spatiotemporal continuum where matter is probed with ultra-short electron and X-ray pulses. We also describe the first series of the experiments performed using a femtosecond electron diffractometer and picosecond transmission electron microscope at the Institute of Spectroscopy, Russian Academy of Sciences based in Troitsk, Moscow.

Keywords: structural dynamics, time-resolved electron diffraction and electron microscopy, femtosecond laser radiation, coherent optical phonons PACS: 07.78.+s, 61.05.J−, 64.70.D−, 64.70.K−, 68.37.Og (all) DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2018.06.038393 URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2019/3/h/ 000469214700008 2-s2.0-85069491472 2019PhyU...62..289A Citation: Aseyev S A, Ryabov E A "Investigation of structural dynamics of substances using ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy" Phys. Usp. 62 289–293 (2019) BibTexBibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks Accepted: 20th, June 2018 Оригинал: Асеев С А, Рябов Е А «Исследование структурной динамики веществ методами сверхбыстрой электронной дифракции и микроскопии (к 50-летию Института спектроскопии РАН)» УФН 189 306–311 (2019); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2018.06.038393