Non-adiabatic transition in C2H5OH+ on a light-dressed potential energy surface by ultrashort pump-and-probe laser pulses

We experimentally investigate how parameters of ultrashort laser pulses such as the pulse width and wavelength could induce changes in the dynamics of vibrational wave packets on the light-dressed-potential energy surface (LD-PES) of C₂H₅OH⁺ using a pump-and-probe pulse excitation scheme. The probability of non-adiabatic transition at 800 nm from the singly ionized ground state to the repulsive excited state leading to C–O bond breaking is enhanced when a probe laser pulse is delayed by ～180 fs. At this pulse delay, on the other hand, C–C bond breaking is significantly suppressed. Therefore, the deformation of LD-PES is considered to change the direction of the wave packet traveling originally along the C–C stretching into the direction along the C–O stretching. This non-adiabatic transition leading to the redirection of the dissociating wave packet is found to occur more efficiently at the probe laser wavelengths at 400 nm than at 800 nm. The critical pulse delay is still ～180 fs even at 400 nm.     

Controlling vibrational wave packet motion with intense modulated laser fields

Intense, nonresonant laser fields produce Stark shifts that strongly modify the potential energy surfaces of a molecule. A vibrational wave packet can be guided by this Stark shift if the laser field is appropriately modulated during the wave packet motion. We modulated a 70 fs laser pulse with a period on the time scale of the vibrational motion (approximately 10 fs) by mixing the signal and idler of an optical parametric amplifier. We used ionization of H2 or D2 to launch a vibrational wave packet on the ground state of H2(+) or D2(+). If the laser intensity was high as the wave packet reached its outer turning point, the Stark shift allowed the molecule to dissociate through bond softening. On the other hand, if the field was small at this critical time, little dissociation was measured. By changing the modulation period, we achieved control of the dissociation yield with a contrast of 90%.     

Time-resolved double ionization with few cycle laser pulses

Ionization of D2 launches a vibrational wave packet on the ground state of D+2. Removal of the second electron places a pair of D+ ions onto a Coulombic potential. Measuring the D+ kinetic energy determines the time delay between the first and the second ionization. Caught between a falling ionization and a rapidly rising intensity, the typical lifetime of the D+2 intermediate is less than 5 fs when an intense 8.6 fs laser pulse is used. We simulate Coulomb explosion imaging of the ground state wave function of D2 by a 4 fs optical pulse and compare with our experimental observations.     

Optimal laser pulse design for transferring the coherent nuclear wave packet of H+2

Within the Franck–Condon approximation, the single ionisation of H₂ leaves H⁺₂ in a coherent superposition of 19 nuclear vibrational states. We numerically design an optimal laser pulse train to transfer such a coherent nuclear wave packet to the ground vibrational state of H⁺₂. Frequency analysis of the designed optimal pulse reveals that the transfer principle is mainly an anti-Stokes transition, i.e. the H⁺₂ in 1sσ_g with excited nuclear vibrational states is first pumped to 2pσ_g state by the pulse at an appropriate time, and then dumped back to 1sσ_g with lower excited or ground vibrational states. The simulation results show that the population of the ground state after the transfer is more than 91%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest transition probability when the driving laser field is dozens of femtoseconds.     

Quantum interferometry by using delayed phase-locked ultrashort pulses: implementation of quantum gate operation in molecules

It will be shown that by using two phase-locked delayed ultrashort pulses of different durations one can selectively populate odd or even vibrational levels of an excited state of a molecule. One can control the enhancement or damping in a selective vibrational level by controlling the laser parameters e.g. delay, phase difference, temporal width and carrier frequency of two ultradhort pulses. Conversely by reading the population distribution In vibrational levels of an excited state of a molecule one can study the amplitude and the phase of the wavepacket generated by the interference of two wavepackets excited by two ultrashort pulses i.e. by quantum interferometry. It will be examined whether the information stored in a molecule by quantum computation can be retrieved efficiently by using quantum interferometry.     

Photoassociation of NaRb with an asymmetric laser pulse

We investigate the photoassociation dynamics of cold NaRb molecule controlled by an asymmetric laser pulse called slowly-turned-on and rapidly-turned-off (STRT) laser pulse. This new shaped laser pulse has a remarkable merit, compared with the typical Gauss-type pulses, so that we can efficiently associate molecules with the state expected instead of going back to the continuum state. Using the three-state model, we solve the quantum mechanical equation with the “split operator-Fourier transform” method under the rotating-wave approximation (RWA) in propagation of the wave packet. By the projection of the obtained wave function onto each vibrational state, we can get the vibrational population of the ground electronic state. The results reveal that, with the STRT laser pulse, an efficient photoassociation process can be achieved and the vibrational distribution in the ground state can be controlled by the laser parameters.     

Temporal coherent control of superfluorescent pulses

We demonstrate that collective atomic interferences can be investigated by measuring the superfluorescence (SF) time delay. A pair of broadband (≈20 nm), ultrashort (≈80 fs), collinear pulses with a variable delay coherently excites rubidium (Rb) atoms. The generated superfluorescent pulses at 420 nm on the cascade transition are recorded by a picosecond streak camera. Both intensity and SF time delay of the 420 nm pulse are altered as the delay between input pulses varies. In particular, the SF time delay of the normalized 420 nm pulse exhibits oscillations with different periods. This can be understood in terms of atomic and quantum interferences due to two possible two-photon excitation pathways through the intermediate levels (Rb D-lines).     

Formation of ground-state vibrational wave packets in intense ultrashort laser pulses

The formation of coherent vibrational wave packets in the electronic ground state of neutral molecules in intense ultrashort laser pulses and their subsequent detection by means of recently developed pump-probe experiments are discussed. The wave packet formation is due to the pronounced dependence of the strong-field ionization rate on the internuclear distance. This leads to a deformation of the initial wave function due to an internuclear-distance dependent depletion. The phenomenon is demonstrated with a time-dependent wave packet study for molecular hydrogen.     

Theoretical simulation of the photoassociation process for NaCs

We investigate the two-step association process of NaCs using the time-dependent wave packet method.Ground state atoms can be photoassociated to the low vibrational levels of the ground state for an NaCs molecule by the two-step association.The time-dependent Schro¨dinger equation of the association process is solved within a three-state model and the wave packet is propagated with the "split operator-Fourier transform" scheme and the rotating-wave approximation(RWA).The vibrational population distribution of the ground state can be obtained by projecting the wave packet to every vibrational level of the ground state.The results not only show that for NaCs achievement of photoassociation production is accompanied by the photodissociation of the higher vibrational molecules,but also show that the vibrational distribution in lower vibrational levels of the ground state changes with the laser parameters.     

Selective Alignment of D2 Induced by Two Ultrashort Laser Pulses

通过求解D₂分子在飞秒激光场中的含时薛定谔方程,研究了室温下D₂分子在超快飞秒激光驱动下的的转动波包动力学. 选择用第一束超短飞秒脉冲与温度为300 K的D₂分子系综相互作用产生一个相干转动波包,用第二束超短飞秒脉冲在波包的1/4和3/4恢复周期选择操纵D₂分子取向. 研究结果表明,通过选择两束超短飞秒脉冲的延迟时间,可以有效控制D₂分子转动波包中奇偶态的相对布居,从而选择性的控制D₂分子取向.     

Spatiotemporal imaging of ultrafast molecular motion: collapse and revival of the D+2 nuclear wave packet

We report on a real-time imaging of the ultrafast D(+)2 rovibrational nuclear wave-packet motion performed using a combination of a pump-probe setup with 7 fs laser pulses and a "reaction-microscope" spectrometer. We observe fast dephasing (collapse) of the vibrational wave packet and its subsequent revival and prove rotational excitation in ultrashort laser pulses. Channel-selective Fourier analysis of the wave packet's long-term (approximately 3000 fs) evolution allows us to resolve its individual constituents, revealing unique information on the mechanisms of strong-field ionization and dissociation.     

飞秒激光参数对非绝热耦合分子态布居的影响

利用含时波包法研究强飞秒泵浦-探测激光场中激光脉宽、波长和场强对非绝热耦合NaI分子各态布居的影响.波包在势能面上做周期性运动,周期约为1 000 fs.延时为200 fs时,波包第一次到达交叉区域分裂成两部分.波包在交叉区域的分裂情况影响各态布居.脉宽增长,NaI分子的激发概率增大,而解离概率减小.泵浦波长为共振波长318 nm时,激发概率最大.泵浦波长增长,NaI分子的解离概率减小.泵浦场强增大,激发概率增大,但解离概率不变.探测激光波长和场强不影响NaI分子各态布居分布.调节激光场参数可实现对波包运动的控制从而控制态布居的选择性分布.研究结果为实验上实现分子的光控制过程提供参考.     

Vibrationally resolved photoabsorption spectroscopy of red fluorescent protein chromophore anions

Photoabsorption studies of red fluorescent protein chromophore anions have been performed at the ELISA electrostatic heavy-ion storage ring. The broad absorption band due to electronic excitation of the chromophores is tuned to a longer wavelength (redshifted) by extending the electronic conjugation of the molecule. A clear vibrational progression is resolved with E(vib) approximately 380 and 520 cm(-1) for two different forms of the chromophore. The vibrational modes correspond to collective motions of the entire molecular structure. It is argued that the excited electronic state has an equilibrium configuration far from that of the electronic ground state, i.e., poor Franck Condon overlap.     

Ultrahigh Harmonic Generation from an Atom with Superposition of Ground State and Highly Excited States

We investigate the high-order harmonic generation from an atom prepared in a superposition of ground state and highly excited state. When the atom is irradiated by an ultrashort pulse, the cutoff position of the plateau in the harmonic spectrum is largely extended compared with the case that the atom is initially in the ground state. The physics of the extension of the high-order harmonic plateau can be interpreted by the spatial structure of the atomic initial wave packet. We can optimize the generation of high-order harmonics by substituting the excited state for a particular coherent superposition of some highly excited states to form a spatially localized excited wave packet.     

Control of electron excitation and localization in the dissociation of H2(+) and its isotopes using two sequential ultrashort laser pulses

We study the control of dissociation of the hydrogen molecular ion and its isotopes exposed to two ultrashort laser pulses by solving the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation. While the first ultraviolet pulse is used to excite the electron wave packet on the dissociative 2psigma{u} state, a second time-delayed near-infrared pulse steers the electron between the nuclei. Our results show that by adjusting the time delay between the pulses and the carrier-envelope phase of the near-infrared pulse, a high degree of control over the electron localization on one of the dissociating nuclei can be achieved (in about 85% of all fragmentation events). The results demonstrate that current (sub-)femtosecond technology can provide a control over both electron excitation and localization in the fragmentation of molecules.     

高阶效应对超短艾里-高斯脉冲相互作用的影响

本文运用分步傅里叶变换,对满足高阶耦合非线性薛定谔方程的超短艾里脉冲与超短高斯脉冲,利用MATLAB数值模拟了在高阶效应下两脉冲相互作用后的演化过程以及时域上的强度变化。结果表明：负三阶色散效应使超短脉冲相互作用能传输更远距离;正三阶色散效应会减慢超短脉冲相互作用的传输。自陡峭效应通过孤子分裂现象的形式使超短脉冲相互作用产生时域位移,内拉曼效应可以将超短脉冲相互作用的能量由前沿处转移到后沿处。     

高阶效应对超短艾里-高斯脉冲相互作用的影响

本文运用分步傅里叶变换,对满足高阶耦合非线性薛定谔方程的超短艾里脉冲与超短高斯脉冲,利用MATLAB数值模拟了在高阶效应下两脉冲相互作用后的演化过程以及时域上的强度变化.获得了负三阶色散效应使超短脉冲相互作用能传输更远距离;正三阶色散效应会减慢超短脉冲相互作用的传输.自陡峭效应通过孤子分裂现象的形式使超短脉冲相互作用产生时域位移.内拉曼效应可以将超短脉冲相互作用的能量由前沿处转移到后沿处.     

高阶效应对超短艾里-高斯脉冲相互作用的影响

本文运用分步傅里叶变换,对满足高阶耦合非线性薛定谔方程的超短艾里脉冲与超短高斯脉冲,利用MATLAB数值模拟了在高阶效应下两脉冲相互作用后的演化过程以及时域上的强度变化。结果表明：负三阶色散效应使超短脉冲相互作用能传输更远距离;正三阶色散效应会减慢超短脉冲相互作用的传输。自陡峭效应通过孤子分裂现象的形式使超短脉冲相互作用产生时域位移,内拉曼效应可以将超短脉冲相互作用的能量由前沿处转移到后沿处。     

Control of the photodissociation of CsCl

A femtosecond UV laser pulse is used to resonantly excite CsCl molecules from the ionically bound ground state to the first excited repulsive state. The excitation leads to the dissociation of CsCl. After a certain time delay a visible (VIS) femtosecond laser pulse interrupts the dissociation process by resonantly de-exciting the molecule back to the ground state. According to the Tannor–Rice control scheme, the fraction of dissociated CsCl molecules is controlled by changing the delay time between the two fs laser pulses. The processes involved are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Based on the results, a self-learning system has been realized, which is able to control the dissociation without any a priori knowledge of the molecule. Received: 2 December 1999 / Published online: 24 July 2000     

NaLi分子飞秒含时光电子能谱的理论研究

运用三态模型和含时波包方法,研究了NaLi分子处于强飞秒抽运-探测激光场中的波包动力学过程和时间分辨光电子能谱,并且揭示了飞秒激光脉冲参数与NaLi分子光电子能谱之间的关系.研究发现:对于不同的激光波长,波包的振动周期是不同的,而且随着抽运-探测脉冲延迟时间的不同,NaLi分子光电子能谱的谱峰高度和位置发生变化;当λ1=352 nm并且?t=400 fs时,外阱中相应的光电离信号(0.5 eV处)明显强于内阱中相应的光电离信号(1.35 eV处).计算结果表明,NaLi分子激发态41Σ+上波包动力学的一些信息能够通过其光电子能谱反映出来.这些结果可以为实验上实现分子的光控制以及量子操控过程提供一些有价值的参考信息,并为进一步的理论研究提供重要依据.