Steering proton migration in hydrocarbons using intense few-cycle laser fields

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates controlling hydrogen migration in hydrocarbons using waveform-controlled, few-cycle laser pulses, revealing phase manipulation of vibrational wavepackets as the control mechanism.

Contribution

It introduces a method to steer proton migration in hydrocarbons with intense laser fields, combining experimental momentum imaging with quantum-dynamical modeling.

Findings

Hydrogen migration can be directed in acetylene and allene.

Control is achieved through phase manipulation of vibrational wavepackets.

The process is governed by off-resonant laser field interactions.

Abstract

Proton migration is a ubiquitous process in chemical reactions related to biology, combustion, and catalysis. Thus, the ability to control the movement of nuclei with tailored light, within a hydrocarbon molecule holds promise for far-reaching applications. Here, we demonstrate the steering of hydrogen migration in simple hydrocarbons, namely acetylene and allene, using waveform-controlled, few-cycle laser pulses. The rearrangement dynamics are monitored using coincident 3D momentum imaging spectroscopy, and described with a quantum-dynamical model. Our observations reveal that the underlying control mechanism is due to the manipulation of the phases in a vibrational wavepacket by the intense off-resonant laser field.