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Updated: May 6, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Observing the dynamics of dipole-mediated energy transport by interaction-enhanced imaging
G Günter1, H Schempp, M Robert-de-Saint-Vincent
1Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract:
Electronically highly excited (Rydberg) atoms experience quantum state-changing interactions similar to Förster processes found in complex molecules, offering a model system to study the nature of dipole-mediated energy transport under the influence of a controlled environment. We demonstrate a nondestructive imaging method to monitor the migration of electronic excitations with high time and spatial resolution, using electromagnetically induced transparency on a background gas acting as an amplifier. The continuous spatial projection of the electronic quantum state under observation determines the many-body dynamics of the energy transport.
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