Imaging the Renner-Teller effect using laser-induced electron diffraction.

Structural information on electronically excited neutral molecules can be indirectly retrieved, largely through pump-probe and rotational spectroscopy measurements with the aid of calculations. Here, we demonstrate the direct structural retrieval of neutral carbonyl disulfide (CS) in the [Formula: see text] excited electronic state using laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED). We unambiguously identify the ultrafast symmetric stretching and bending of the field-dressed neutral CS molecule with combined picometer and attosecond resolution using intrapulse pump-probe excitation and measurement. We invoke the Renner-Teller effect to populate the [Formula: see text] excited state in neutral CS, leading to bending and stretching of the molecule. Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of LIED in retrieving the geometric structure of CS, which is known to appear as a two-center scatterer.