Related papers: An optical centrifuge with zero rotational acceler…
Inducing and controlling the ultrafast molecular rotational dynamics using shaped laser fields is essential in numerous applications. Several approaches exist that allow following the coherent molecular motion in real-time, including…
Optical control of nanoscale objects has recently developed into a thriving field of research with far-reaching promises for precision measurements, fundamental quantum physics and studies on single-particle thermodynamics. Here, we…
Sympathetic cooling of trapped ions has been established as a powerful technique for manipulation of non-laser-coolable ions (Raizen1992,Waki1992,Bowe1999,Barrett2003). For molecular ions, it promises vastly enhanced spectroscopic…
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…
We suggest a new method for quantum optical control with nanoscale resolution. Our method allows for coherent far-field manipulation of individual quantum systems with spatial selectivity that is not limited by the wavelength of radiation…
We consider optical properties of a gas of molecules that are brought to fast unidirectional spinning by a pulsed laser field. It is shown that a circularly polarized probe light passing through the medium inverts its polarization…
We consider the use of pulse-shaped broadband femtosecond lasers to optically cool rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom of molecules. Since this approach relies on cooling rotational and vibrational quanta by exciting an electronic…
Producing large samples of slow molecules from thermal-velocity ensembles is a formidable challenge. Here we employ a centrifugal force to produce a continuous molecular beam with a high flux at near-zero velocities. We demonstrate…
We introduce a new scheme for controlling the sense of molecular rotation. By varying the polarization and the delay between two ultrashort laser pulses, we induce unidirectional molecular rotation, thereby forcing the molecules to rotate…
Achieving quantum-limited motional control of optically trapped particles beyond the sub-micrometer scale is an outstanding problem in levitated optomechanics. A key obstacle is solving the light scattering problem and identifying particle…
A circularly polarized laser beam is used to levitate and control the rotation of microspheres in high vacuum. At low pressure, rotation frequencies as high as 6 MHz are observed for birefringent vaterite spheres, limited by centrifugal…
Laser control of molecular rotation is an area of active research. A number of recent studies has aimed at expanding the reach of rotational control to extreme, previously inaccessible rotational states, as well as controlling the…
We consider a diatomic molecule driven by a linearly polarized laser pulse with a polarization axis rotating with a constant acceleration. This setup is referred to as optical centrifuge, and it is known to lead to high-angular momenta for…
We show that a 450 fs nonresonant, moderately intense, linearly polarized laser pulse can induce field-free molecular axis alignment of methyliodide molecules dissolved in a helium nanodroplet. Time-resolved measurements reveal rotational…
Strong laser-induced magnetization of oxygen gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure is achieved experimentally on the sub-nanosecond time scale. The method is based on controlling the electronic spin of paramagnetic molecules by…
Optomechanics is concerned with the use of light to control mechanical objects. As a field, it has been hugely successful in the production of precise and novel sensors, the development of low-dissipation nanomechanical devices, and the…
Controllable rotation of micro-/nano-objects provides tremendous opportunities for cellular biology, three-dimensional (3D) imaging, and micro/nanorobotics. Among different rotation techniques, optical rotation is particularly attractive…
The lack of a direct map between control fields and desired control objectives poses a significant challenge in applying quantum control theory to quantum technologies. Here, we propose an analytical framework to precisely control a limited…
Molecules with their axes sharply confined in space, available through laser-induced alignment methods, are essential for many current experiments, including ultrafast molecular imaging. Most of these applications require both that the…
An optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum is a paradigm optomechanical system for sensing and studying macroscopic quantum mechanics. While its center-of-mass motion has been investigated intensively, its torsional vibration has only…