Ultrafast magnetization of a dense molecular gas with an optical centrifuge

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to induce ultrafast, strong magnetization in dense oxygen gas at room temperature using an optical centrifuge to control molecular rotation and spin polarization, enabling remote magnetic field generation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel optical centrifuge technique to achieve rapid, high-degree spin polarization in dense paramagnetic gases, applicable broadly and capable of generating macroscopic magnetic fields.

Findings

Achieved sub-nanosecond magnetization of oxygen gas.

Controlled electronic spin via molecular rotation with an optical centrifuge.

Potential for remote magnetic field generation and spin polarization applications.

Abstract

Strong laser-induced magnetization of oxygen gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure is achieved experimentally on the sub-nanosecond time scale. The method is based on controlling the electronic spin of paramagnetic molecules by means of manipulating their rotation with an optical centrifuge. Spin-rotational coupling results in high degree of spin polarization on the order of one Bohr magneton per centrifuged molecule. Owing to the non-resonant interaction with the laser pulses, the demonstrated technique is applicable to a broad class of paramagnetic rotors. Executed in a high-density gas, it may offer an efficient way of generating macroscopic magnetic fields remotely (as shown in this work), producing large amount of polarized electrons and converting electronic to nuclear spin polarization.