Research Projects

The proposal aims to determine the absolute photodissociation cross-sections of deprotonated nucleotides at 266 nm, where these molecules absorb strongly. The molecules are deoxy-adenosine monophosphate, one of the DNA building-blocks, and adenosine monophosphate, one of the RNA building-blocks. The researchers propose to measure these cross-sections for the first time in the literature, aiming to determine which species are more resistant against UV photodestruction. The project will use two ion trap setups, one at the Innsbruck Austrian laboratory and the other at the Tirupati Indian laboratory, to measure the cross-sections of the molecular ions. The ion trap facilities will be optimized for cryogenic measurements and room temperature measurements, allowing for the identification of the effect of temperature on the photodissociation characteristics of the molecules of interest. The researchers will supervise doctoral students and postdocs in the two laboratories, observing the photodissociation rate and the decay rate of the ions. The results will provide data for calculating relevant potential energy surfaces involved in the dissociation process.