Control of Li2 wave packet dynamics by modification of the quantum mechanical amplitude of a single state

Sequences of pulses with different spectra are used to control rotational wave packet dynamics in Li(2) by exploiting quantum interference phenomena. Wave packet superpositions are excited in a two-step resonant Raman process by two different pulses. Interferences between individual states shared by both wave packets can be used to enhance or destroy specific components of a superposition by varying the time delay between the pulses and/or the relative phase within the pulses. Elimination of selected quantum beats is achieved by greater than 94% for each case. A simple, yet effective, method for generating different color phase-locked pairs of laser pulses in a liquid-crystal pulse shaper setup without the need for interferometric stabilization schemes is described. The ability to manipulate single states of a superposition is an important advancement for intuitive control schemes and provides a potential new approach for initialization schemes in the field of quantum information.