Alignment of the CS${}_2$ Dimer Embedded in Helium Droplets Induced by a Circularly Polarized Laser Pulse

Abstract

Dimers of carbon disulfide (CS${}_2$) molecules embedded in helium nanodroplets are aligned using a moderately intense, 160ps, non-resonant, circularly polarized laser pulse. It is shown that the intermolecular carbon-carbon (C-C) axis aligns along the axis perpendicular to the polarization plane of the alignment laser pulse. The degree of alignment, quantified by $⟨{\cos }^2({\theta }_{\text{2D}})⟩$, is determined from the emission directions of recoiling CS${}_2$${}^{+}$ fragment ions, created when an intense 40fs probe laser pulse doubly ionizes the dimers. Here, ${\theta }_{\text{2D}}$ is the projection of the angle between the C-C axis on the 2D ion detector and the normal to the polarization plane. $⟨{\cos }^2({\theta }_{\text{2D}})⟩$ is measured as a function of the alignment laser intensity and the results agree well with $⟨{\cos }^2({\theta }_{\text{2D}})⟩$ calculated for gas-phase CS${}_2$ dimers with a rotational temperature of 0.4K.

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