Theoretical description of mixed-field orientation of asymmetric top molecules: a time-dependent study

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the mixed-field orientation of asymmetric top molecules, specifically benzonitrile, using time-dependent Schrödinger equation simulations to compare with experimental data and previous models.

Contribution

It introduces a time-dependent approach to study the field-dressed dynamics of asymmetric top molecules, highlighting non-adiabatic effects and advancing understanding beyond static models.

Findings

Agreement with experimental orientation measurements

Identification of non-adiabatic phenomena affecting dynamics

Comparison with previous time-independent descriptions

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the mixed-field-orientation of asymmetric top molecules in tilted static electric field and non-resonant linearly polarized laser pulse by solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. Within this framework, we compute the mixed-field orientation of a state selected molecular beam of benzonitrile (C$_7$H$_5$N) and compare with the experimental observations [J. L. Hansen et al., Phys. Rev. A 83, 023406 (2011)], and with our previous time-independent descriptions [J. J. Omiste et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13, 18815 (2011)]. For an excited rotational state, we investigate the field-dressed dynamics for several field configurations as those used in the mixed-field experiments. The non-adiabatic phenomena and their consequences on the rotational dynamics are analyzed in detail.