Related papers: Molecular wave-packet dynamics on laser-controlled…
Recent development of ultrashort laser pulses allows for optical control of structural and electronic properties of complex quantum materials. The layered transition metal dichalcogenide MoTe2, which can crystalize into several different…
Tremendous advances in laser pump-probe techniques open the door for the observation in real time of ultrafast \textit{electronic} processes. Particularly attractive is the visualization of interatomic processes where one can follow the…
We have recently demonstrated that optical pumping methods combined with photoassociation of ultra-cold atoms can produce ultra-cold and dense samples of molecules in their absolute rovibronic ground state. More generally, both the external…
In ultrafast experiments with gas phase molecules, the alignment of the molecular axis relative to the polarization of the interacting laser pulses plays a crucial role in determining the dynamics following this light-matter interaction.…
We experimentally observe the action of multiple light pulses on the transverse motion of a continuous beam of fullerenes. The light potential is generated by non-resonant ultra-short laser pulses in perpendicular spatial overlap with the…
The direct laser cooling of neutral diatomic molecules in molecular beams suggests that trapped molecular ions can also be laser cooled. The long storage time and spatial localization of trapped molecular ions provides the opportunity for…
We study the properties of a monitored ensemble of atoms driven by a laser field and in the presence of collective decay. The properties of the quantum trajectories describing the atomic cloud drastically depend on the monitoring protocol…
Ultrafast non-equilibrium dynamics offer a route to study the microscopic interactions that govern macroscopic behavior. In particular, photo-induced phase transitions (PIPTs) in solids provide a test case for how forces, and the resulting…
In this perspective, we discuss how one can initiate, image, and disentangle the ultrafast elementary steps of thermal-energy chemical dynamics, building upon advances in technology and scientific insight. We propose that combinations of…
Light-induced conical intersections (LICIs) can be formed both by standing or by running laser waves. The position of a LICI is determined by the laser frequency while the laser intensity controls the strength of the nonadiabatic coupling.…
Ultrafast optical pump-probe spectroscopy is a powerful tool to study dynamics in solid materials on femto- and picosecond timescales. In such experiments, a pump pulse induces dynamics inside a sample by impulsive light-matter interaction,…
The impulsive limit (the "sudden approximation") has been widely employed to describe the interaction between molecules and short, far-off-resonant laser pulses. This approximation assumes that the timescale of the laser--molecule…
Stark deceleration allows for precise control over the velocity of a pulsed molecular beam and, by the nature of its limited phase-space acceptance, reduces the energy width of the decelerated packet. We describe an alternate method of…
We formulate a general hybrid quantum-classical technique to describe the interaction of diatomic molecules with XUV pulses. We demonstrate the accuracy of our model in the context of the interaction of the O$_2$ molecule with an XUV pulse…
The use of intense tailored light fields is the perfect tool to achieve ultrafast control of electronic properties in quantum materials. Among them, Mott insulators are materials in which strong electron-electron interactions drive the…
The longitudinal ($\Gamma_1$) and transverse ($\Gamma_2$) decay rates of a two-level quantum system have profound influence on its evolution. Atomic systems with $\Gamma_2=\tfrac{1}{2}\Gamma_1$ have been studied extensively, but with the…
We demonstrate that strong impulsive gas heating or heating suppression at standard temperature and pressure can occur from coherent rotational excitation or de-excitation of molecular gases using a sequence of non-ionizing laser pulses.…
We experimentally investigate various processes present in the photoassociative interaction of an ultracold atomic sample with shaped femtosecond laser pulses. We demonstrate the photoassociation of pairs of rubidium atoms into…
Ultrafast optical techniques allow to study ultrafast molecular dynamics involving both nuclear and electronic motion.To support interpretation, theoretical approaches are needed that can describe both the nuclear and electron…
Some of us have recently reported in Science 321 232 (2008) vibrational cooling of translationally cold Cs_2 molecules into the lowest vibrational level v=0 of the singlet X 1Sigma_g ground electronic state. Starting from a sample of cold…