Abstract
We show experimentally that field-free alignment of iodobenzene molecules, induced by a single, intense, linearly polarized 1.4-ps-long laser pulse, can be strongly enhanced by dividing the pulse into two optimally synchronized pulses of the same duration. For a given total energy of the two-pulse sequence the degree of alignment is maximized with an intensity ratio of and by sending the second pulse near the time where the alignment created by the first pulse peaks.
- Received 10 November 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.173004
©2004 American Physical Society