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Field-Free Orientation of CO Molecules by Femtosecond Two-Color Laser Fields

S. De, I. Znakovskaya, D. Ray, F. Anis, Nora G. Johnson, I. A. Bocharova, M. Magrakvelidze, B. D. Esry, C. L. Cocke, I. V. Litvinyuk, and M. F. Kling
Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 153002 – Published 5 October 2009; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 159902 (2014)
Physics logo See Synopsis: Orientation without perturbation

Abstract

We report the first experimental observation of nonadiabatic field-free orientation of a heteronuclear diatomic molecule (CO) induced by an intense two-color (800 and 400 nm) femtosecond laser field. We monitor orientation by measuring fragment ion angular distributions after Coulomb explosion with an 800 nm pulse. The orientation of the molecules is controlled by the relative phase of the two-color field. The results are compared to quantum mechanical rigid rotor calculations. The demonstrated method can be applied to study molecular frame dynamics under field-free conditions in conjunction with a variety of spectroscopy methods, such as high-harmonic generation, electron diffraction, and molecular frame photoelectron emission.

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  • Received 18 July 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.153002

©2009 American Physical Society

Erratum

Erratum: Field-Free Orientation of CO Molecules by Femtosecond Two-Color Laser Fields [Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 153002 (2009)]

S. De, I. Znakovskaya, D. Ray, F. Anis, Nora G. Johnson, I. A. Bocharova, M. Magrakvelidze, B. D. Esry, C. L. Cocke, I. V. Litvinyuk, and M. F. Kling
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 159902 (2014)

Synopsis

Key Image

Orientation without perturbation

Published 5 October 2009

Femtosecond light pulses at two different frequencies are effective in aligning and orienting molecules without the need for a strong static field.

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Authors & Affiliations

S. De1, I. Znakovskaya2, D. Ray1, F. Anis1, Nora G. Johnson1, I. A. Bocharova1, M. Magrakvelidze1, B. D. Esry1, C. L. Cocke1, I. V. Litvinyuk1,†, and M. F. Kling1,2,*

  • 1J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Physics Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA
  • 2Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, 85748 Garching, Germany

  • *matthias.kling@mpq.mpg.de
  • ivl@phys.ksu.edu

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Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 15 — 9 October 2009

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