Directional spinning of molecules with sequences of femtosecond pulses

Abstract

We present an analysis of two experimental approaches to controlling the directionality of molecular rotation with ultrashort laser pulses. The two methods are based on the molecular interaction with either a pair of pulses (a "double kick" scheme) or a longer pulse sequence (a "chiral pulse train" scheme). In both cases, rotational control is achieved by varying the polarization of and the time delay between the consecutive laser pulses. Using the technique of polarization sensitive resonance-enhanced multi-photon ionization, we show that both methods produce significant rotational directionality. We demonstrate that increasing the number of excitation pulses supplements the ability to control the sense of molecular rotation with quantum state selectivity, i.e. predominant excitation of a single rotational state. We also demonstrate the ability of both techniques to generate counter-rotation of molecular nuclear spin isomers (here, ortho- and para-nitrogen) and molecular isotopologues (here, 14N_2 and 15N_2).

8 pages, 10 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Laser-induced alignment and orientation of quantum-state-selected large molecules
• Control of molecular rotation with a chiral train of ultrashort pulses
• Quantum resonances in selective rotational excitation of molecules with a sequence of ultrashort laser pulses
• Field-free two-direction alignment alternation of linear molecules by elliptic laser pulses
• Molecular spinning by a chiral train of short laser pulses

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Manipulation of Molecules with Electromagnetic Fields
• Observing Molecular Spinning via the Rotational Doppler Effect
• Selective Orientation of Chiral Molecules by Laser Fields with Twisted Polarization
• Visualizing molecular unidirectional rotation
• Orienting Asymmetric Molecules by Laser Fields with Skewed Polarization
• Observation of persistent orientation of chiral molecules by laser field with twisted polarization
• Optics of a Gas of Coherently Spinning Molecules
• Laser induced persistent orientation of chiral molecules
• Molecular spinning by a chiral train of short laser pulses
• Observation of nondispersing classical-like molecular rotation
• Echoes in Unidirectionally Rotating Molecules