Anderson wall and Bloch oscillations in molecular rotation

Abstract

We describe a universal behavior of linear molecules excited by a periodic train of short laser pulses under quantum resonance conditions. In a rigid rotor the resonance causes an unlimited ballistic growth of the angular momentum. We show that the centrifugal distortion of rotating molecules eventually halts the growth, by causing Anderson localization beyond a critical value of the angular momentum -- the Anderson wall. Its position solely depends on the molecular rotational constants and lies in the range of a few tens of hbar. Below the wall, rotational excitation oscillates with the number of pulses due to a mechanism similar to Bloch oscillations in crystalline solids. We suggest optical experiments capable of observing the rotational Anderson wall and Bloch oscillations at near-ambient conditions with the help of existing laser technology.

arXiv comment6 pages, 3 figures

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• Quantum Control of Molecular Gas Hydrodynamics
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Cited by in corpus (14)

• Quantum control of molecular rotation
• Experimental observation of Anderson localization in laser-kicked molecular rotors
• Observation of Bloch oscillations in molecular rotation
• Topological swing in Bloch oscillations
• Field-free long-lived alignment of molecules in extreme rotational states
• Control of quantum localization and classical diffusion in laser-kicked molecular rotors
• Edge states of periodically kicked quantum rotors
• Quantum dynamics of a planar rotor driven by suddenly switched combined aligning and orienting interactions
• Rotational excitation of molecules with long sequences of intense femtosecond pulses
• Topological charges of periodically kicked molecules
• Unified parameter for localization in isotope-selective rotational excitation of diatomic molecules using a train of optical pulses
• Laser-induced molecular alignment in the presence of chaotic rotational dynamics
• Angular Bloch Oscillations and their applications
• Quantum dynamics of a polar rotor acted upon by an electric rectangular pulse of variable duration