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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Multiple packets of neutral molecules revolving for over a mile
Peter C Zieger1, Sebastiaan Y T van de Meerakker, Cynthia E Heiner
1Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
The level of control that one has over neutral molecules in beams dictates their possible applications. Here we experimentally demonstrate that state-selected, neutral molecules can be kept together in a few mm long packet for a distance of over one mile. This is accomplished in a circular arrangement of 40 straight electrostatic hexapoles through which the molecules propagate over 1000 times. Up to 19 packets of molecules have simultaneously been stored in this ring structure. This brings the realization of a molecular low-energy collider within reach.
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