Hamburg 2009 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 18: Experimentelle Techniken

MO 18.6: Talk

Thursday, March 5, 2009, 12:00–12:15, VMP 6 HS-F

Laser-induced alignment and orientation of quantum-state-selected large molecules — Lotte Holmegaard¹, Jens H. Nielsen¹, Iftach Nevo¹, Henrik Stapelfeldt¹, Frank Filsinger², •Jochen Küpper², and Gerard Meijer² — ¹University of Aarhus, Denmark — ²Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG, Berlin

Strong inhomogeneous static electric fields can be used to spatially disperse a supersonic beam of polar molecules, according to their quantum state. We show that the molecules residing in the lowest-lying rotational states can be spatially selected and used as targets for further experiments.

As an illustration, we demonstrate an unprecedented degree of laser-induced alignment and strong mixed-field orientation of state-selected iodobenzene molecules. This method should also enable experiments on pure samples of polar molecules in their rotational ground state, offering new opportunities in molecular science.