Field-free alignment of molecules at room temperature

Optical gratings induced by field-free alignment of molecules

Alignment-assisted field-free orientation of rotationally cold CO molecules

We follow the alignment-assisted orientation technique proposed by Zhang et al. [Phys. Rev. A 83, 043410 (2011)] to experimentally demonstrate a substantial enhancement of the field-free orientation by using a combination of singleand two-color laser pulses. When a two-color orienting pulse is preceded by a single-color aligning pulse by a suitable time, the resulting orientation is thrice as l...

Field-free three-dimensional alignment of polyatomic molecules.

We experimentally demonstrate field-free, three-dimensional alignment (FF3DA) of polyatomic asymmetric top molecules. We achieve FF3DA in sulfur dioxide gas using two time-delayed, orthogonally polarized, nonresonant, femtosecond laser pulses. Our method avoids the use of rotational revivals and is therefore more robust to temperature. The alignment is probed using time-delayed coincidence Coul...

Optical studies of single molecules at room temperature.

Recent developments in optical studies of single molecules at room temperature are reviewed, with an emphasis on the underlying principles and the potential of single-molecule experiments. Examples of single-molecule studies are given, including photophysics and photochemistry pertinent to single-molecule measurements, spectral fluctuations, Raman spectroscopy, diffusional motions, conformation...

Coherent control of single molecules at room temperature.

The detection of individual molecules allows to unwrap the inhomogeneously broadened ensemble and reveal the spatial disorder and temporal dynamics of single entities. During 20 years of increasing sophistication this approach has provided valuable insights into biomolecular interactions, cellular processes, polymer dynamics, etc. Unfortunately the detection of fluorescence, i.e. incoherent spo...