Precise Control of Molecular Dynamics with a Femtosecond Frequency Comb - A Weak Field Route to Strong Field Coherent Control

Abstract

We present a general and highly efficient scheme for performing narrow-band Raman transitions between molecular vibrational levels using a coherent train of weak pump-dump pairs of shaped ultrashort pulses. The use of weak pulses permits an analytic description within the framework of coherent control in the perturbative regime, while coherent accumulation of many pulse pairs enables near unity transfer efficiency with a high spectral selectivity, thus forming a powerful combination of pump-dump control schemes and the precision of the frequency comb. The concept is presented analytically and its feasibility and robustness are verified by simulations of dynamics in Rb${}_2$. We consider application of this concept to the formation of stable, deeply bound, ultracold molecules.

4+ pages, 3 figures, pacs corrected

References in corpus (3)

• Observation of Bose-Einstein Condensation of Molecules
• Coherent optical transfer of Feshbach molecules to a lower vibrational state
• Stabilization of Ultracold Molecules Using Optimal Control Theory

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• Piecewise adiabatic population transfer in a molecule via a wave packet
• Prospects for precision measurements of atomic helium using direct frequency comb spectroscopy
• Mitigation of loss within a molecular Stark decelerator
• Complete transfer of populations from a single state to a pre-selected superposition of states using Piecewise Adiabatic Passage
• Formation of deeply bound molecules via chainwise adiabatic passage
• Engineering an all-optical route to ultracold molecules in their vibronic ground state
• Perspectives for coherent optical formation of strontium molecules in their electronic ground state
• Heteronuclear quantum gas mixtures