Laser-induced alignment and orientation of quantum-state-selected large molecules

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to select quantum-state-specific polar molecules using an electric field, achieving high degrees of laser-induced alignment and orientation, enabling advanced experiments with pure molecular samples.

Contribution

The study introduces a technique for quantum-state selection of large molecules, achieving unprecedented alignment and orientation, facilitating new molecular science experiments.

Findings

Achieved laser-induced 1D alignment with <cos^2θ_{2D}> = 0.97

Demonstrated strong orientation of state-selected iodobenzene molecules

Enabled experiments on pure samples of polar molecules in their ground state

Abstract

A strong inhomogeneous static electric field is used to spatially disperse a supersonic beam of polar molecules, according to their quantum state. We show that the molecules residing in the lowest-lying rotational states can be selected and used as targets for further experiments. As an illustration, we demonstrate an unprecedented degree of laser-induced 1D alignment $(<\cos^2\theta_{2D}>=0.97)$ and strong orientation of state-selected iodobenzene molecules. This method should enable experiments on pure samples of polar molecules in their rotational ground state, offering new opportunities in molecular science.