skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Parity-selective enhancement of field-free molecular orientation in an intense two-color laser field

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
;  [1]; ; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Physics and Coherent X-ray Research Center, KAIST, Yusong-gu, Daejon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of)
  2. Advanced Photonics Research Institute, GIST, 261 Cheomdan-gwagiro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of)

We investigated the characteristics of molecular orientation induced by a nonresonant two-color femtosecond laser field. By analyzing the rotational dynamics of asymmetric linear molecules, we revealed that the critical parameter in characterizing the molecular orientation was the hyperpolarizability of molecules that selected the excitation paths of rotational states between parity-changing and parity-conserving transitions. Especially, in the case of molecules with small hyperpolarizability, a significant enhancement of orientation was achieved at the half-rotational period, instead of the full-rotational period. This deeper understanding of the hyperpolarizability-dependent characteristics of molecular orientation in a two-color scheme can provide an effective method to achieve significantly enhanced field-free orientation for various polar molecules.

OSTI ID:
22095747
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Vol. 84, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English