Multiscale wavelet decomposition of time-resolved X-ray diffraction signals in cyclohexadiene

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 115; no. 41
• Main Authors: Osipov, Vladimir Al, Kowalewski, Markus, Mukamel, Shaul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 25-09-2018
• Subjects: Science & Technology - Other Topics
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1811983115

We demonstrate how the wavelet transform, which is a powerful tool for compression, filtering, and scaling analysis of signals, may be used to separate large- and short-scale electron density features in X-ray diffraction patterns. Wavelets can isolate the electron density associated with delocalized bonds from the much stronger background of highly localized core electrons. The wavelet-processed signals clearly reveal the bond formation and breaking in the early steps of the photoinduced pericyclic ring opening reaction of 1,3-cyclohexadiene, which are not resolved in the bare signal.