Monitoring ultrafast vibrational dynamics of isotopic molecules with frequency modulation of high-order harmonics.

Molecules constituted by different isotopes are different in vibrational modes, making it possible to elucidate the mechanism of a chemical reaction via the kinetic isotope effect. However, the real-time observation of the vibrational motion of isotopic nuclei in molecules is still challenging due to its ultrashort time scale. Here we demonstrate a method to monitor the nuclear vibration of isotopic molecules with the frequency modulation of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) during the laser-molecule interaction. In the proof-of-principle experiment, we report a red shift in HHG from H and D. The red shift is ascribed to dominant HHG from the stretched isotopic molecules at the trailing edge of the laser pulse. By utilizing the observed frequency shift, the laser-driven nuclear vibrations of H and D are retrieved. These findings pave an accessible route toward monitoring the ultrafast nuclear dynamics and even tracing a chemical reaction in real time.