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Quantum Phase Analysis of Field-Free Molecular Alignment

Optics 2015-04-09 v1 Chemical Physics

Abstract

We present quantum mechanical explanations for unresolved phenomena observed in field-free molecular alignment by a femtosecond laser pulse. Quantum phase analysis of molecular rotational states reveals the physical origin of the following phenomena: strong alignment peaks appear periodically, and the temporal shape of each alignment peak changes in an orderly fashion depending on molecular species; the strongest alignment is not achieved at the first peak; the transition between aligned and anti-aligned states is very fast compared to the time scale of rotational dynamics. These features are understood in a unified way analogous to that describing a carrier-envelope-phase-stabilized mode-locked laser.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1504.01885,
  title  = {Quantum Phase Analysis of Field-Free Molecular Alignment},
  author = {Sang Jae Yun and Chul Min Kim and Jongmin Lee and Chang Hee Nam},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1504.01885},
  year   = {2015}
}
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