Controlling Molecular Scattering by Laser-Induced Field-Free Alignment

Abstract

We consider deflection of polarizable molecules by inhomogeneous optical fields, and analyze the role of molecular orientation and rotation in the scattering process. It is shown that molecular rotation induces spectacular rainbow-like features in the distribution of the scattering angle. Moreover, by preshaping molecular angular distribution with the help of short and strong femtosecond laser pulses, one may efficiently control the scattering process, manipulate the average deflection angle and its distribution, and reduce substantially the angular dispersion of the deflected molecules. We provide quantum and classical treatment of the deflection process. The effects of strong deflecting field on the scattering of rotating molecules are considered by the means of the adiabatic invariants formalism. This new control scheme opens new ways for many applications involving molecular focusing, guiding and trapping by optical and static fields.

References in corpus (6)

• Laser-induced alignment and orientation of quantum-state-selected large molecules
• Quantum-state selection, alignment, and orientation of large molecules using static electric and laser fields
• Controlling the sense of molecular rotation
• Deflection of field-free aligned molecules
• Enhanced Molecular Orientation Induced by Molecular Anti-Alignment
• Laser Induced Selective Alignment of Water Spin Isomers

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Quantum control of molecular rotation
• Manipulation of Molecules with Electromagnetic Fields
• Molecular spinning by a chiral train of short laser pulses
• Electric Deflection of Rotating Molecules
• Modifying molecule-surface scattering by ultrashort laser pulses
• Deflection of Rotating Symmetric Molecules by Inhomogeneous Fields
• Stern-Gerlach deflection of field-free aligned paramagnetic molecules
• Orientation and Alignment Dynamics of Polar Molecule Driven by Shaped Laser Pulses
• Molecular Frisbee: Motion of Spinning Molecules in Inhomogeneous Fields
• Effect of rotational-state-dependent molecular alignment on the optical dipole force