Aspirin in form of small crystallites provides new insight into delicate motions of electrons and atomic nuclei. Set into molecular vibration by strong ultrashort far-infrared (terahertz) pulses, the nuclei oscillate much faster than for weak excitation. They gradually return to their intrinsic oscillation frequency, in parallel to the picosecond decay of electronic motions. An analysis of the terahertz waves radiated from the moving particles by in-depth theory reveals the strongly coupled character of electron and nuclear dynamics characteristic for a large class of molecular materials.
