We report the rotationally resolved spectrum of a single polyatomic molecular ion in the gas phase. Building upon the recently developed inelastic recoil spectroscopy (IRS) technique, we have achieved a spectral resolution sufficient to observe resolved rotational-vibrational transitions of a trapped cyclopropenyl cation, c-C3H3+. The high precision of IRS shown in this work presents an attractive platform for astrochemistry, single molecule chiral detection, and tests of fundamental physics.
@article{arxiv.2409.12955,
title = {Rotationally Resolved Spectroscopy of a Single Polyatomic Molecule},
author = {Aaron Calvin and Merrell Brzeczek and Samuel Kresch and Elijah Lane and Lincoln Satterthwaite and Desi Hawkins and David Patterson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2409.12955},
year = {2024}
}