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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Field-free two-direction alignment alternation of linear molecules by elliptic laser pulses
1Laboratoire de Physique de l'Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS 5027, BP 47870, 21078 Dijon, France. ddaems@ulb.ac.be
Abstract:
We show that a linear molecule subjected to a short specific elliptically polarized laser field yields post-pulse revivals exhibiting alignment alternatively located along the orthogonal axis and the major axis of the ellipse. The effect is experimentally demonstrated by measuring the optical Kerr effect along two different axes. The conditions ensuring an optimal field-free alternation of high alignments along both directions are derived.
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