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Title: Communication: Creation of molecular vibrational motions via the rotation-vibration coupling

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4922309· OSTI ID:22415958
 [1]
  1. Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Building 207, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby (Denmark)

Building on recent advances in the rotational excitation of molecules, we show how the effect of rotation-vibration coupling can be switched on in a controlled manner and how this coupling unfolds in real time after a pure rotational excitation. We present the first examination of the vibrational motions which can be induced via the rotation-vibration coupling after a pulsed rotational excitation. A time-dependent quantum wave packet calculation for the HF molecule shows how a slow (compared to the vibrational period) rotational excitation leads to a smooth increase in the average bond length whereas a fast rotational excitation leads to a non-stationary vibrational motion. As a result, under field-free postpulse conditions, either a stretched stationary bond or a vibrating bond can be created due to the coupling between the rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom. The latter corresponds to a laser-induced breakdown of the adiabatic approximation for rotation-vibration coupling.

OSTI ID:
22415958
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 142, Issue 22; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English