Read and write amplitude and phase information by using high-precision molecular wave-packet interferometry

Journal Article · Sun Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.76.013403· OSTI ID:21011250

Katsuki, Hiroyuki; Ohmori, Kenji ^[1]; Hosaka, Kouichi; Chiba, Hisashi ^[1]

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1. Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585 (Japan)

We demonstrate an experimental approach to read and write populations and relative phases of vibrational eigenstates within a wave packet created in the B state of the iodine molecule by using a pair of phase-locked femtosecond laser pulses. Our highly stabilized optical interferometer provides attosecond stability and resolution in the interpulse delay. The stability and resolution have realized an exquisite tuning of the interference of two vibrational wave packets to manipulate the relative populations and the relative quantum phases among the vibrational eigenstates within the wave packets. These populations and phases have been retrieved by measuring fluorescence from the upper E state induced by another nanosecond (ns) or femtosecond (fs) probe laser pulse. The bandwidth of the ns probe pulse is narrow enough to select only a small portion of the rotational progression of a particular vibrational band of the E-B transition. By scanning the probe wavelength, we measure the population distribution of the vibrational eigenstates within the wave packet. The fs probe pulse is used to measure quantum beats arising from the temporal evolution of the wave packet. Combining these two complementary measurements, we can read both population and phase information written and stored in the wave packet.

• OSTI ID: 21011250
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 76; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
AMPLITUDES
DISTRIBUTION
E STATES
EIGENSTATES
FLUORESCENCE
INTERFERENCE
INTERFEROMETERS
INTERFEROMETRY
IODINE
LASER RADIATION
MOLECULES
PHOTON-MOLECULE COLLISIONS
PROBES
SPECTRA
STABILITY
TIME RESOLUTION
VIBRATIONAL STATES
WAVE PACKETS
WAVELENGTHS