Related papers: Long-lived nuclear coherences inside helium nanodr…
The observation of chemical reactions on the time scale of the motion of electrons and nuclei has been made possible by lasers with ever shortened pulse lengths. Superfluid helium represents a special solvent that permits the synthesis of…
Molecules immersed in liquid helium are excellent probes of superfluidity. Their electronic, vibrational and rotational dynamics provide valuable clues about the superfluid at the nanoscale. Here we report on the experimental study of the…
This article provides a review of recent work in the field of helium nanodroplet spectroscopy with emphasis on the dynamical aspects of the interactions between molecules in helium as well as their interaction with this unique quantum…
We experimentally demonstrate that the rotation of molecules embedded in helium nanodroplets can be controlled with an optical centrifuge, allowing for the study of molecular dynamics inside the strongly interacting many-body environment of…
We thoroughly investigate vibrational quantum dynamics of dimers attached to He droplets motivated by recent measurements with K-2 [1]. For those femtosecond pump-probe experiments, crucial observed features are not reproduced by gas phase…
The spectroscopy of free radicals and radical containing entrance-channel complexes embedded in superfluid helium nano-droplets is reviewed. The collection of dopants inside individual droplets in the beam represents a micro-canonical…
The solvation process of an alkali ion (Na$^+$, K$^+$, Rb$^+$, Cs$^+$) inside a superfluid $^4$He$_{2000}$ nanodroplet is investigated theoretically using liquid $^4$He time-dependent density functional theory at zero temperature. We…
Recently, it was shown how the primary steps of solvation of a single Na$^+$ ion, instantly created at the surface of a nanometer-sized droplet of liquid helium, can be followed at the atomic level [Albrectsen et al. Nature $\textbf{623}$,…
Preparing and detecting spatially extended quantum superpositions of a massive object comprises an important fundamental test of quantum theory. These quantum states are extremely fragile and tend to quickly decay into incoherent mixtures…
We combine experimental and theoretical approaches to explore excited rotational states of molecules embedded in helium nanodroplets using CS$_2$ and I$_2$ as examples. Laser-induced nonadiabatic molecular alignment is employed to measure…
Besides the use as cold matrix for spectroscopic studies, superfluid helium droplets have served as a cold environment for the synthesis of molecules and clusters. Since vibrational frequencies of molecules in helium droplets exhibit almost…
Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy has been used to study vibrational dynamics of potassium dimers attached to superfluid helium nanodroplets. Comparing the measured data with theoretical results based on dissipative quantum dynamics we…
Superfluid helium nanodroplets are often considered as transparent and chemically inert nanometer-sized cryo-matrices for high-resolution or time-resolved spectroscopy of embedded molecules and clusters. On the other hand, when the helium…
Recent work applying multidimentional coherent electronic spectroscopy at dilute samples in the gas phase is reviewed. The development of refined phase-cycling approaches with improved sensitivity has opened-up new opportunities to probe…
Evaporative cooling of helium nanodroplets is studied with a statistical rate model that includes, for the first time, angular momentum conservation as a constraint on the accessible droplet states. It is found that while the final…
We have explored the light induced dynamics in superfluid helium nanodroplets with wide-angle scattering in a pump-probe measurement scheme. The droplets are doped with xenon atoms to facilitate the ignition of a nanoplasma through…
Long-range intermolecular forces are able to steer polar molecules submerged in superfluid helium nanodroplets into highly polar metastable configurations. We demonstrate that the presence of such special structures can be identified, in a…
We report on the production and study of stable, highly charged droplets of superfluid helium. Using a novel experimental setup we produce neutral beams of liquid helium nanodroplets containing millions of atoms or more that can be ionized…
The dynamics of vibrational wave packets excited in K$_2$ dimers attached to superfluid helium nanodroplets is investigated by means of femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. The employed resonant three-photon-ionization scheme is studied in…
A theoretical treatment of deeply supercooled liquids is difficult because their properties emerge from spatial inhomogeneities that are self-induced, transient, and nanoscopic. I use computer simulations to analyse self-induced static and…