Laser-based imaging of gas phase molecules

Watching a molecule at work, the so-called making a molecular movie, is a long standing
goal in the physical chemistry community. With the recent advent of X-ray free electron
lasers and relativistic electron guns, femtosecond diffractive imaging studies with intense
short-wavelength pulses and with ultrashort electron bunchs became possible. In this talk,
I will discuss alternative routes based on strong field ionization by intense femtosecond
laser pulses to image molecular structures and dynamics. Two techniques, namely laser-
induced Coulomb explosion imaging and laser-induced electron diffraction, will be
presented and recent applications of these techniques to the retrieval of molecular
structure and ultrafast molecular dynamics will be provided.